Nikita Bolshakov

Career

CAREER

Between 2014 and 2015, Future came up with three mixtapes, ‘Monster’, ‘Beast Mode’ and ’56 Nights’. Interestingly, all the mixtapes did exceedingly well earning much critical acclaim and appreciation.

Other than albums and mixtapes, Future also released several singles certified gold or higher by the RIAA, including ‘Turn On the Lights’, ‘Move That Dope’, ‘Fuck Up Some Commas’, ‘Where Ya At’, ‘Jumpman’, ‘Low Life’ and ‘Mask Off’.

On February 2017, Future came up with his eponymous fifth studio album. While his fans were soaking in the ecstasy of his new album, Future showered them with yet another new album, his sixth titled ‘HNDRXX’. Both the albums went number one consecutively, thereby making Future the first artist to debut two albums at number one at the same time on the Billboard 200 and Canadian Albums Chart.

If we talk about where the artist's pseudonym came from, then this is due to the nickname of the same name, which was awarded to him by members of The Dungeon Family at the beginning of his career. Future began his creative career by writing lyrics for other performers, but soon decided to record full-fledged tracks on his own. In the period from 2010 to 2013, a lot of creative material is released, which is collected in mixtapes: "1000" (2010), "Dirty Sprite" (2011), "True Story" (2011), "Free Bricks" (with Gucci Mane, 2011 ), "Streetz Calling" (2011), "Astronaut Status" (2012), "F.B.G.: The Movie" (2013), "Black Woodstock" (2013). Such activity was due to the fact that the rapper wanted to loudly declare himself, and the only way was to release new tracks that contribute to the expansion of the fan base. It was this tactic that the hero of our biography adhered to both at the beginning of his career and in the future.

It is also necessary to mention the debut studio album "Pluto", which was presented to the public in April 2012. Almost an hour of total playing time and feature artists such as Drake, R. Kelly, T.I., Trae tha Truth and Snoop Dogg contributed to the release reaching #8 on the Billboard 200 chart. creative development of Future.

In October 2013, the mixtape "Monster" was released, which consists of 16 tracks. The only guest on the record is Lil Wayne. The release was produced by the notorious Metro Boomin, who collaborates with famous artists.

In April next year (2014) the second studio release "Honest" is presented. It consists of 12 tracks and featured Pharrell, Pusha T, Casino, Wiz Khalifa, Kanye West, Drake, Young Scooter as guests. Through hard work, the album reached number two on the US Billboard 200.

As noted above, Neivedius Deman Wilburn has an outstanding ability to work: 5 mixtapes are released from 2015 to 2016. "Beast Mode", "56 Nights", "What a Time to Be Alive", "Purple Reign", "Project E.T." were very well received by both critics and listeners. Many pointed to the successful combination of the text component and the music, thanks to which the artist found his own unique style.

In July 2015, the studio release "DS2" was released, which immediately reached the highest figures on the Billboard 200. It includes 13 songs, among which the only joint composition with Drake. A year after the release of "DS2", in February 2016, the public presented the fourth studio release called "Evol". 12 powerful tracks produced by the likes of Metro Boomin, Ben Billions, DaHeala, DJ Spinz, The Weeknd. The album was appreciated by both critics and ordinary music lovers. Also in 2016, a mini-album "Freebricks 2: Zone 6 Edition" is released jointly with Gucci Mane. It is these two performers who are the giants of trap music and proved it on the aforementioned record. Six tracks are distinguished by their energy and uniqueness. It should be noted that such an effect, according to some information, was achieved in 24 hours of work at the studio. Collaboration with Young Thug mixtape "Super Slimey" was released in October 2017. Flow experiments, stylish trap tracks, powerful punchlines - all this can be heard on 13 tracks of this release.

In the same 2017, in February, the album "Future" was released, which consists of 20 tracks. The album received very positive reviews from such publications as Exclaim!, Pretty Much Amazing, Pitchfork. Also evidence of success was the platinum status of the album, which was certified six months after the release. "Hndrxx" is the sixth studio release, coming out the same month as the previous record. The tracks featured musicians such as Rihanna, The Weeknd, Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj. As Future himself noted in one of his interviews, this is very personal material for him, so listeners can plunge headlong into the maelstrom of the artist's personal experiences and thoughts. High Klassified, Metro Boomin, Southside, CuBeatz, Detail, Major Seven, DJ Spinz, Wheezy, Allen Ritter are the people who were responsible for the musical composition of the compositions. June 2018 was marked by the release of "Beastmode 2", which has 9 audio tracks. The release is very melodic and interesting for those who are looking for something special. The beatmaker Zaytoven contributed to the fact that there were a minimum number of claims to the musical part of the disc.

PERSONAL LIFE

In terms of personal life, Future has 4 children with four different women: Jessica Smith, Brittney Miley, India Jay and music artist Ciara. In August 2014, the engagement with the last chosen one was terminated and at the moment there is no specific information about her personal life. But you can be sure that the artist receives plenty from attention from the female sex.

Future is a talented and productive artist who, thanks to his hard work, has managed to carve out his niche among the rap stars of the world stage. Regular releases, concert performances, closeness with fans - all this has contributed to the fact that the rapper has a stable fan base that supports him in all endeavors. The musician is not going to stop there, so in the near future we should expect the release of new creative material.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT FUTURE

• The rapper was the author of the track Last Breath, which was included in the seventh film of the Rocky film franchise.
• The performer is the owner of prestigious awards: BET Hip Hop Awards and Much Music Video Awards.
• Mixtape - compilation The Movie became "platinum" according to the results of downloads on the DatPiff website (more than 250 thousand copies).
• The engagement of the rapper and Ciara was terminated at the initiative of the singer.
• The rapper does not hide that the best way to relax is to use light drugs.

Rihanna, faster in her youth as Robin (full name: Rihanna Robin Fenty), where many meet - in the hot Barbados with the azure coast and reggae rhythms in size.

Her childhood passed in an ordinary area, which the girl described as "not the richest, but not the poorest." Her father, Ronald Fenty, was a warehouse worker, and her mother, Monica Brathwaite, worked as an accountant. From them, she inherited Afro-Barbadian, Afro-Guyanese and Irish roots. The girl has two younger brothers: Rory and Rajad, as well as two brothers and two sisters born in her father's previous relationships (all from different mothers).

Rihanna's father was a man with a difficult character. A windy, aggressive, drink-loving man often beat his wife. The singer recalled how once, trying to separate her parents, she made a “rose” from a bottle and stood between them - this was the only way her requests to calm down had an effect. Subsequently, Ronald became seriously addicted to crack . This was the last straw - Monica filed for divorce. My mom is one of the strongest women I know. Not even, perhaps the most powerful. Although it cannot be said that her childhood memories of her father are purely negative. It was Ronald who taught her to swim and ride a bike. After the divorce, 9-year-old Rihanna took on the responsibility of raising her 3-year-old brother Rajad. “He was my best friend, he thought I was his mom!” recalled the star.

Academically, in elementary school, Rihanna was a real nerd and did nothing but read. But over the years, interest in learning disappeared, and music took its place. She organized her own group, where two friends were invited to a song contest for Mariah Carey's song "Hero".

THE BEGINNING OF A MUSIC CAREER

At the age of 15, Rihanna smiled real luck. Mutual friends arranged for her to audition with producer Evan Rogers, who was vacationing on the coast. Evan's production career has been quite successful, as he has already worked with pop stars such as Christina Aguilera.

Robin's talent and voice impressed the producer, and he did not hesitate to invite her to try her luck in the USA. The parents of the future singer, who at that time lived separately, did not interfere with her ambitions, therefore, without graduating from school, Robin left Barbados. As Rihanna herself will later say, in those years, her ambitions went off scale. With Evan's help, Rihanna's mini-recordings from the audition were sent to various record companies, one of which belonged to the famous promising rapper Jay Z. On the day they met, he saw a powerful potential in her and was not mistaken. Starting to work under his auspices, Rihanna remained his ward for many years.

Robin's career began in the same 2005 with the song "Pon de Replay", which introduced the world to the still unknown singer, full of native Caribbean flavor and Afro-Hawaiian roots. The incendiary single hit the top positions of the charts, the main of which was the American "Billboard Hot 100".

When the song was heard in Rihanna's hometown, rumors spread about her sexual relationship with Jay-Z, which, of course, was not true and hurt the girl badly. She shared her experiences with Jay-Z. The more experienced colleague laughed and said, "You can't control everything people say, but you can't let their words influence your decisions." Rihanna remembered them and since then only laughed at other people's speculation.

In the same year, Rihanna's first record "Music of the Sun" was born, successfully sold out in half a million copies. Robin was in no hurry with concerts, but to advertise her person she often performed as an opening act for the stars, and at the same time wrote music for future hits. The next album was not long in coming. "A Girl Like Me", (2006) reached the top 5 in US and UK sales. The composition “SOS” that got into it sounded on all radio stations, where it occupied the first places in terms of the number of plays on the air. It was later used in ads for Nike sportswear.

CAREER PEAK

In parallel with music in 2006, the singer began to participate in the filming of films. The debut film for Rihanna was the comedy Bring It On, where she played a cameo. Designer Manolo Blahnik has repeatedly spoken publicly about the artistic talents of Rihanna, which, in his opinion, only a true movie star can have.

In 2007, the singer presented the album "Good Girl Gone Bad", which became her fateful. He earned popularity not only in the states, but also in the CIS, Japan, Brazil. The main hit "Umbrella" sang the whole world, which brought the first well-deserved "Grammy" and the status of "breakthrough of the year". This was the first composition in which Rihanna revealed her vocal abilities to the maximum. The hit of the year was sung in a duet with Jay-Z and written with Justin Timberlake, who later became the backing vocalist for Rehab.

Along with the explosive album, the image of the star changed - to a bold, brutal one, corresponding to its name. Rihanna boldly experimented with short haircuts and revealing stage outfits. At that time, she felt that she no longer wanted to dance to the tune of labels, but was ready for new challenges. The 21-year-old singer cut her hair short and dyed her hair black.

After a difficult breakup between Rihanna and Chris Brown in 2009 (read more in the "Personal Life" section), the album "Rated R" was released with the leader in all the charts "Russian Roulette". Fans immediately noticed the gloominess and aggressiveness of the album's songs, which were marked by the star's heartache. And a year later, the incendiary dance “Loud” was released, with the main hit “Only Girl”. In it, the world saw a completely new Ri - real, self-sufficient, bold, not imposing any images on herself. In 2010, the singer earned another Grammy, and a year after the sixth album, Talk That Talk, she received the status of the best-selling performer in Britain. In 2012, “Diamonds” from the new album “Unapologetic” sounded on the radio, which became the absolute leader of the world charts, and a year later it repeated “The monster” sung in a duet with Eminem. In the same year, she brought her artistry to the shooting of the fantasy film "Battleship" with Liam Neeson in one of the main roles.

With the release of the eighth album, Rihanna was in no hurry, so it was presented only in 2016 under the name "Anti". The opinion about him was ambiguous: some saw the quality of vocals and musical sound, the second - complete bad taste. However, the record was free, which was appreciated by millions of listeners.

RIHANNA'S PERSONAL LIFE

Rihanna has never willingly shared details about her romances with the press, but it's hard to hide from the paparazzi. She was regularly credited with relationships with famous people, often with African-American rappers - Puff Daddy, Usher. Once the singer was credited with intimacy with Leonardo DiCaprio, but all the rumors turned out to be false. In 2008, the singer's romance with the black R'n'B and hip-hop singer Chris Brown became discussed, which ended rather tragically. In February 2009, on the eve of the Grammy Awards, a fight broke out between lovers, in which the singer received many abrasions and bruises. Photos from the police report leaked to the network. Chris escaped real time. He "paid" with five years of probation and 6 months of corrective labor, and after a couple of years he made futile attempts to return his beloved.

In 2009, Rihanna met aspiring rapper Drake. Their first meeting is dedicated to his song "Fireworks". Rumors of an affair spread with terrifying speed, and in 2010, Rihanna made an official comment, saying that she and Drake were just good friends.

However, the video for the song "What's My Name", released next, where Rihanna and Drake played lovers, made fans doubt her words - the "chemistry" between the artists was too obvious. Their joint performance at the 2011 Grammys and the "Take Care" video, with obvious love overtones, added fuel to the fire.

In the summer of 2012, Chris Brown got into a fight with Drake. The reasons were not made public in the media, but everyone was convinced that the men were vying for Rie's heart. Drake and Rihanna's relationship has had its ups and downs. All this time, there was no official confirmation of their romance, and only in 2016, during the MTV VMA awards, Drake publicly kissed his beloved.

But only six months passed, and the couple ceased to exist. “They still love each other, but they will never be together,” said insiders close to the artists. It was rumored that Drake cheated on the Barbadian beauty with model India Love. Soon, a strange post appeared on Rihanna's Instagram: “None of my exes have ever had relationships with girls. So it's definitely not about me."

However, Rihanna soon had another enviable boyfriend. For several years, the singer was also credited with an affair with A$AP Rocky. In 2020, fans' dreams came true - the couple was spotted together several times, including near one of the hotels in New York. It is also reported that the lovers met the New Year 2021 together.

In early 2022, it became apparent that Rihanna was expecting a child from her boyfriend. The singer proudly showed a rounded belly, flaunting in open outfits. Shortly before the baby was born, there were rumors that Rihanna had left A$AP Rocky. The reason was the betrayal of the rapper with Rihanna's friend, shoe designer Amina Muaddi. However, a few days after the breakup, the couple was again noticed together at the airport. Amina, on the other hand, called the rumors of betrayal a dirty lie, and the lovers themselves preferred not to comment on the information.

In 1997, Notorious B.I.G. was killed. Jay's close friend. This event made the rapper think about things more serious than bluster. And he filled two albums (In my life time vol.1 and vol.2… Hard Knock Life) with bright personal spaces and sincere stories about street life. It turned out what has now been called conscious hip-hop. But time heals, and already in 1999, Sean, having smelled the eternal rapper's hedonism, moved into a more commercial implementation. Volume 3... The Life and Times of S. Carter was the artist's miserable record of life's hardships and marked his return to a more lucrative (and lucrative) track. Jay started from the image of a street ragamuffin aside and the life of hard-to-reach women, which he reads about in the tracks Girls, Girls, Girls and Big Pimpin'.

Commercial

Since the early 2000s, Sean has been making money, not only for himself, but also for a handful of very young artists who collaborated with Roc-A-Fella Records, including Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and many others. Each album by Jay was a hit, the production became more and more epic, and the cars in the videos became more and more expensive. At the same time, the rapper did not flirt with rock music for long (rap was not always the number one genre). From the experiments came the hit 99 problems and a joint recording with Linkin Park, which also achieved great success. For six years, Jay generally managed a lot, even ended his career once.

Held

By the 200th, Jay had already become an unshakable figure, revealed Rihanna to the world, left the stage, returned and began to wear a jacket more often. A year later, he married Beyoncé and began to get more involved in business, but out of inertia released 3 more albums and a collaboration with Kanye. At first it turned out well, but by 2013, it seems that interest has completely dried up. Magna Carter's Holy Grail album impressed few people, but by that time Jay was already a bird of such a high flight that the taunts of critics simply did not reach him.

Legend

Few rappers who started in the 80s managed to remain relevant to this day and also earn $ 900 million (none). By 2018, Jay has already become a completely mythical figure in rap. He is the personification of everything that any young artist aspires to - fame, recognition, money and an ideal wife. And the album 4:44, released last year, is the best proof that, despite all the success in business, he is primarily a musician. Jay no longer tries to please anyone, does not try to please anyone, and he does not care about money - this is exactly the freedom that every artist strives for. Jay achieved it and recorded the most raw, unkempt and honest album of his career, it turned out, as you know, cool.

Social activity

Jay-Z devotes a lot of time to charity. For example, he founded a foundation with his mother to help students who are facing financial difficulties. Also during one of his world tours, the rapper promoted the idea of ​​​​supporting the environment and preserving clean natural water.

In 2006, Sean Carter acted as an ardent fighter against racism and anti-Semitism, and later he was involved in politics to some extent: the singer agitated the people of Illinois not to ignore the presidential elections, but to more actively express their life and political positions. During this campaign, JAY-Z met US President Barack Obama, who, after their conversation, repeatedly spoke of him as a person with whom it is incredibly interesting to communicate.

In 2018, US President Donald Trump himself turned to the performer, but not as a musician, but as a human rights activist. In a tweet, the president asked users of the service to tell Jay-Z that, thanks to the policies of the new head of state, unemployment among the black population of America has reached an all-time low.

This statement was the president's response to criticism from the rapper. JAY-Z publicly condemned Trump's words when he called the countries of Africa and Haiti "dirty holes."

Personal life

Now Jay-Z and r'n'b singer Beyoncé name different dates of acquaintance and the beginning of a romantic relationship. At first, the artists were "friends", but in 2004 they officially confirmed the couple's status at the MTV Video Music Awards.

In 2008, the artists got married, and 4 years later, Sean Carter and Beyoncé had a daughter, who was named Blue Ivy Carter. The couple try not to discuss private relationships with fans and journalists, as they believe that such behavior speaks of playing in public.

In 2017, a replenishment happened in the family of musicians: Beyoncé gave birth to twins. The singer's pregnancy became known back in February: she starred in a nude photo shoot with a noticeably rounded belly, and also stated that she now has three hearts. The pop diva continued to communicate with fans throughout her pregnancy and regularly posted photos on her Instagram page, not embarrassed by changes in her own body.

The stars responsibly prepared for the replenishment in the family. Jay-Z bought a new house - a huge mansion worth $ 120 million, so that no one in a large family would be crowded.

Shortly after the news of the birth of the twins, journalists learned the names of the children. The newborns were named by the star parents in an unusual way - Rumi and Sir. Rumi is a favorite poet of both Jay-Z and Beyoncé, so the parents named their daughter in honor of such a creative personality. And the boy received the name Sir, which goes back to the British title. The parents decided that the son was behaving nobly, like a high-ranking Briton.

Musicians did not appear at social events for a long time. For the first time since the birth of the twins, the stars came out only at Rihanna's traditional Diamond Ball.

At the end of 2017, Jay-Z again drew the attention of fans to his own personal life. But this time the news was not so pleasant: the rapper publicly admitted for the first time that he had cheated on his wife.

JAY-Z cheating was not such a secret for fans of the musical couple. Beyoncé talked about it in a creative way on her Lemonade album. But in a new interview, Jay-Z openly said that the marriage was on the verge of divorce, but the couple were able to find a common language and endure problems together. The rapper also linked his own infidelity to childhood problems. The artist shared that life in a dysfunctional area made him emotionally closed, and this eventually resulted in family problems.

In addition to music, the rapper promotes his clothing and footwear line. Among his possessions are film production, a club, sports bars. The musician is a certified sports agent and co-owns the New Jersey Nets basketball team.

In 2021, Jay-Z's fortune reached $1.4 billion, and the total capital of the spouses, according to Forbes, is almost $2 billion. special order of artists. According to media reports, the cost of this unprecedentedly expensive vehicle was $ 28 million.

Biography of Pavel Durov

Pavel Durov was born into a family of university professors Valery and Albina Durov. Pavel has two brothers: half-brother Mikhail from his mother's first marriage and brother Nikolai, a famous mathematician and world champion in programming among students.

Part of Pavel's childhood was spent in Turin, where his father worked for several years. He studied at an Italian school. After returning to St. Petersburg, the boy entered the experimental classes of the Academic Gymnasium with in-depth study of foreign languages. At the age of 11, Durov began to write the first programs. In 2002, Pavel entered the philological faculty of St. Petersburg State University and began to study English. As a student, he participated in numerous olympiads in computer science, linguistics and design, and was engaged in the creation of websites.

Childhood and education

Pavel Durov took his first steps in his studies in Italy, then he studied at a school in the city of Turin, where the head of the family worked for some time. Upon returning to his hometown, he becomes a student of the Academic Gymnasium at St. Petersburg State University. Classes in it provided Pavel Durov not only with an excellent linguistic base - he knows 7 foreign languages ​​​​(English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Persian and Latin), but also aroused his interest in programming. Already at the age of 11, he began to be interested in computer programs and virtual projects. Already at this time, he was making his first successes in programming, cracking passwords on school computers and changing the standard screensaver to a photocaricature depicting an unloved teacher.

Despite this passion, Pavel Durov enters the Faculty of Philology of St. Petersburg State University in the direction of "English Philology and Translation". It is in the knowledge of foreign languages ​​that he seeks ways to perceive the world, discovers new perspectives in learning and his own development.

The years of study at the university were marked for Pavel by diligent studies, which ensured him multiple victories in linguistic competitions, design and programming competitions. He becomes a scholarship holder of both the Government and the President of the Russian Federation, and also three times - the laureate of the Potanin Prize.

In addition to the main educational disciplines, Pavel Durov pays attention to military training, attending the Propaganda and Psychological Warfare course at the military faculty. This gives him the opportunity to be the platoon leader of his native faculty, and also secures the rank of reserve lieutenant.

A logical conclusion to studying at St Petersburg University is a red diploma, confirming the high level of his knowledge and which is still at the university.

Creation of VKontakte

The development of the youth social network was preceded by other, smaller projects. It has a virtual library for the humanities, where abstracts and other important materials were collected for quick search and exchange of information. The address of this resource directly pointed to its creator - durov.com.

Further, he tried to create an Internet community of the university by creating a forum with the address spbgu.ru, where students from all faculties of this educational institution could communicate virtually. This network already required special registration with filling out a certain form: last name and first name, faculty, group number, list of friends, etc. Here you could both communicate with friends, share information, and keep author's blogs. Durov also thought of ways to promote his offspring: he was the organizer of virtual intra-university beauty and design contests with mandatory prizes and rewards.

The idea to create the VKontakte network came to Pavel Durov after talking with an old friend Vyacheslav Mirilashvili, who was educated in the United States. Together they became interested in the Facebook project, analyzed the popularity of this network and decided to create an equally grandiose and successful Russian-language analogue. The implementation of the project required both financial costs and technical developments. The investments of the elder Mirilashvili helped to sort out the first problem, and both the friends themselves and Pavel's brother Nikolai and their mutual friend Leviev Leviev took part in the direct development of the site. As a result, Pavel Durov, Vyacheslav Mirilashvili and Lev Leviev were among the founders, Pavel became the general director, and Nikolai Durov took over the position of technical manager. Officially, the VKontakte social network began operating in September 2006. Its interface initially resembled Mark Zuckerberg's American version of Facebook.

During the functioning of this social network, the names have changed (from the first name "Students.ru" to the changed "VKontakte" and, finally, to the memorable abbreviation "VK"), registration rules and commercial approaches.

So the first months on the site it was possible to register exclusively by invitation, but since December the network has become open to all users. The success of the Russian social network was confirmed by its rapidly growing popularity - in the first year of its existence alone, the number of users of this Internet resource crossed the 3 million mark. In addition, Pavel Durov continued the tradition of holding various contests on this website, which had a positive effect on the promotion of VK.

At the same time, the VKontakte network was not spared some financial problems. Server maintenance was a constant expense. Therefore, the site, as a non-commercial project, required third-party investments. The first support came from the Didital Sky Technologies fund represented by Yuri Milner, who bought out a 25% stake in the resource for 6.3 million rubles. Later, this block of shares will pass to their new owner - the Mail.ru group.

2007 was the beginning of the site's commercialization period. First, users of the social network got the opportunity to use the virtual currency "votes" to make gifts to friends or influence the rating of their page. In 2008, financial revenues were already provided through contextual advertising. At this stage, the site already had more than 20 million users and was one of the leaders among Russian-language Internet sites.

Such popularity of the VKontakte network and some mystery, artificially created around the personality of its CEO Pavel Valeryevich Durov, required an appropriate location, the same extraordinary decisions and actions. Luxurious premises were rented for the VK office - the last 2 floors of the Singer House, which adorned Nevsky Prospekt. It was from the windows of this office that Durov threw out banknotes on the day of the city. He and his team that day strewn the street with cash "airplanes" totaling about $2,000. Thus, the young businessman, according to him, wanted to cheer people up on a holiday.

Along with the development of his brainchild, Pavel Durov did not forget about organizing contests with the support of creative and creative ideas. Since 2011, he has been actively financing start-ups that have won the professional selection. As a reward, he allocates 25 thousand dollars to the winners. Pavel also takes a great part in the development of the virtual information platform Wikipedia - in 2012 he transfers $ 1 million to the account of this site.

Telegram against Roskomnadzor

The developer of the St Petersburg University student network, the founder of VKontakte, the creator of numerous browser games - another powerful project of Pavel Durov was the Telegram messenger. It was for its development that the programmer actively began after leaving VK. A feature of the new platform was the use of a special method of message encryption developed by Pavel for secure correspondence. The strict privacy policy of user data, which has become an inviolable principle for Durov, has caused a new round of discontent on the part of the authorities.

This resource, refusing to obey the special services, was credited with cooperation with terrorists and was even assigned the role of the main communication channel for their communication. Moreover, it was announced that the messenger was used in organizing a terrorist attack in the St. Petersburg metro.

Roskomnadzor, headed by Alexander Zharov, as well as German Klimenko, adviser to the Head of the country on Internet development, tried in various ways to convince the "anarchic" Durov to give out user data, threatening to block the resource.

The result of such a confrontation at the end of June 2017 was the partial surrender of Pavel Durov, who provided the authorities with the necessary information to register Telegram in the register of Russian information channels. At the same time, he reassured his users that this step in no way concerns the disclosure of personal data, but only introduces the work of the messenger into the legal field of the country. The strict privacy policy is still a priority for the founders of Telegram, who ensure that user data does not fall into any intelligence agency in the world.

In 2017, Durov also announced new opportunities for Telegram users in the future. With the help of this resource, it will be possible to establish video communication, as well as conduct financial transactions without commissions - the Stripe virtual payment system will be responsible for making payments.

The resumption of the confrontation between Roskomnadzor and Telegram began in April 2018. Refusals to issue encryption keys to the FSB, which, according to Durov, is technically impossible, led to a court order to block the messenger.

April 16, 2018 was the start date for the blocking of Telegram in Russia, as a result of which more than 20 million accounts were closed, which, in turn, caused the failure of many Google and Amazon hosting sites.

On April 16, a new photo-response of Pavel Durov to the actions of the authorities appeared - he posted on social networks his photo on a white horse with words confirming his willingness to take risks for the sake of freedom.

Freedom, personal development, the ability to create and manage new projects - these were and remain the goals of Pavel Durov, a successful businessman and programmer.

The life of Pavel Durov in exile

In 2014 Pavel left Russia. He received a passport from the island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, but does not live anywhere permanently, moving around the world with a team of programmers.

Pavel Durov's personal life

Pavel was credited with an affair with a Russian model, the former common-law wife of rapper Timati Alena Shishkova. Also, according to the media, he met with actress Daria Bondarenko

An American fashion designer and fashion designer who has served as artistic director of menswear for Louis Vuitton since March 2018. In addition to his work at Louis Vuitton, Abloh is also the CEO of Milan-based label Off-White, a fashion house founded by Abloh in 2013.

Abloh was born in Rockford, Illinois to Ghanaian parents. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2002 and the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2006 with degrees in civil engineering and architecture, respectively. He entered the fashion world from an internship at Fendi in 2009, where he met rapper Kanye West. Virgil Abloh began to actively collaborate with Kanye on various creative projects, which eventually inspired Abloh to create his own clothing brand Off-White. Time magazine included Abloh in the "Time 100" list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018.

EARLY YEARS

Virgil Abloh was born on September 30, 1980 in Rockford in a family of emigrants from Ghana. His mother was a seamstress. Abloh grew up in Rockford, where he attended a private Catholic school, graduating in 1998. In high school, he met his future wife, Shannon. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. In 2006, Abloh graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a master's degree in architecture.

After graduating from university, in 2009, Abloh entered the Fendi fashion house for an internship, getting into the same team with rapper Kanye West. While at the Fendi office in Rome, Italia Abloh and Kanye began collaborating on creative projects. A year later, West appointed Abloh as creative director of his advertising agency, DONDA. In 2011, West appointed Abloh to serve as art director for Jay-Z and Kanye West's upcoming album, Watch the Throne. In 2012, Abloh registered his first company, Pyrex Vision, a small streetwear boutique. Abloh bought clothes from the old collections of the Polo Ralph Lauren brand for forty dollars, put his own designs on them and sold them for prices that reached five hundred and fifty dollars. Abloh closed his company after a year, as his goal was not to create a commercially successful enterprise, but "to conduct an artistic experiment."

Abloh founded his first fashion house and second business overall in 2013. It was the high-end streetwear brand Off-White. To investors and critics, Abloh described his new company as "a gray area between white and black" or "Shades of white" - Off-White colors. The head office is located in Milan, Italy. The brand launched a line of fashionable women's clothing in 2014 and presented it at Paris Fashion Week. His collections were finalists for the LVMH award, but lost out at the Marques'Almeida and Jacquemus competitions. Abloh opened his brand's first concept store in Tokyo, Japan, where interior products were shown for the first time. In 2017, Abloh received proposals for a shoe collection with Nike dubbed "The Ten" where he revisited the designs of some of the company's most famous sneakers. Virgil has also worked with IKEA on furniture and home furnishings. According to a press release, these products are aimed primarily at "millennials" who will be furnishing their first home. The collection will be called "Markerad" (Swedish for clear, fresh, pronounced) and will be released in 2019.

In 2017, amid a certain rise in neo-nationalism, Abloh worked with neo-conceptual artist Jenny Holzer on a line that highlighted the positives of immigration, cultural integration and globalization. In December 2017, Virgil Abloh worked again with Jenny Holzer to design T-shirts for the Planned Parenthood charity in response to the Women's March on Washington.

SINCE 2018: LOUIS VUITTON

On March 25, 2018, Abloh was named Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton's menswear line, becoming the first black man to hold the position, and one of the few blacks to be included in France's top couturiers list. At the time of his inauguration, Abloh said: “It is a great honor for me to hold this position. I find the brand's heritage and creative integrity a source of inspiration for me and will keep them in mind, but also try to do contemporary things." Virgil Abloh showcased his first collection for Louis Vuitton in 2018 at the Paris Men's Fashion Week at the Palais Royal. The show featured Playboi Carti, Lacey, Steve, Dev Hines and Kid Cudi representing the "races of color".

PERSONAL LIFE

Abloh owns a house in Chicago's Lincoln Park, where he lives with his wife and two children, Lowe and Gray. He travels 350,000 miles a year (approximately 565,000 km) for his work. Virgil Abloh is a representative of the Ewe people from the Hannian region of Volta.

AWARDS AMD NOMINATIONS

Abloh received his first major award in 2011 for the design of Watch the Throne, the cover of which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Recording Art. Abloh also received the 2017 Urban Luxe award from the British Fashion Council. Virgil Abloh was included in the Time 100, a list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018.

DEATH

Virgil Abloh passed away on November 28, 2021 from cardiac angiosarcoma, which he had been battling for several years.

Early life

EARLY LIFE

TUPAC SHAKUR MUSICAL CAREER AND CRIME EPISODES

Tupac discovered rap for himself when he lived in Baltimore. Then he became a veteran as MC New York. And in the late 1980s, Shakur awaits in the California group Digital Underground, within which he is on his way to fame. His first composition in his career is recognized as the song of this group "Same Song".

Shakur's debut solo studio album - 2Pacalypse Now - was released in 1991 and caused a loud controversy in the camp of government officials, mainly because of the tracks Trapped and Brenda's Got a Baby, during which the singer recorded an unfair assessment of the United States. Tupac's first compilation was included in MTV's list of certified hip-hop classics and was certified gold by the RIAA.

The 2Pacalypse Now album had a tremendous impact on many hi-hop artists, including Eminem, The Game, Talib Kweli, who later stated that it was this collection that inspired their work.

In 1992, Tupac moved to Los Angeles. Tupac's second studio album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z..., was released in the winter of 1993 and proved to be even more successful, developing the first record. It charted on singles producers like I Get Around, Keep Ya Head Up, and then went platinum (over one million copies sold). At the same time, Shakur created the Thug Life group, which presented their only studio album, Thug Life: Volume 1, in the fall of 1994, which received gold certification in the future.

On the way to the top of his fame, the rapper, who was praised for his musical and acting interest and condemned for the content of his damning songs, a very unrighteous life, now and then finds himself behind bars. So, in the fall of 1993, he met 19-year-old Ayanna Jackson, who, a week after meeting Tupac, accused him of rape. On November 30, 1994, the day before the decision was made in the case of another, Shakur, along with a friend, became the victim of a robbery and received five bullet wounds (two in the groin and head, one in the arm). After the incident, the famous war of the coasts began as a result of rap.

The day after the shooting, Tupac was convicted on charges of sexual harassment and arrested pending a final court verdict. The verdict was pronounced on February 7, 1995 - Shakur was imprisoned for a term of 1.5 to 4.5 years. In the doctor, he was working on the next album.

Tupac Shakur made history as the first musician to release an album adapted behind bars. The 1995 collection “I am against the whole world” (“I am against the whole world”), which became the studio project of the provocative rapper. collecting album, considered as one of the greatest and most influential compilations, having received multi-platinum status. In 1996, at the Soul Train Music Awards, he won the title of best rap album. By 2011, Me Against The World had sold 3,524 million copies.

At the end of 1995, Tupac, who made significant financial contributions, entered into a onerous contract for the release of three collections with the Death Row label, whose head Marion "Shug" Knight contributed a pledge of about one and a half million dollars for the singer. Once free after 10 months of listening, the rapper immediately began recording new singles.

In early 1996, Tupac's next creation was released - the double album All Eyez on Me, in which Dr. Dre, Method Man, Tha Dogg Pound Redman, Snup Dogg, George Clinton, E 40, and Shakur's new Outlawz. The fourth collection was certified nine times platinum. By the end of 1996, the record had sold five million copies.

In 1997, as part of the Soul Train Music Awards, this project won the Best Rap Album of the Year nomination. Tupac himself received an award at the 24th American Music Awards as "Most Favorite Hip-Hop Artist of the Year."

Tupac's last, fifth album, released after his death in the fall of 1996, had a double title - The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory and was released under the artist's new stage name - Makaveli.

In the summer of 1999, this album was awarded four platinum certifications. In 2005, MTV removed The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory from its "Greatest Hip Hop Albums of All Time" list.

TUPAC SHAKUR DOOM

On September 7, 1996, Shakur and his manager Suge Knight attended a boxing match in Las Vegas between Bruce Seldon and Mike Tyson, who then won. Tupac decided to celebrate the success of his wrestling friend at Club 662, where the rapper was taken in his black BMW 750iL Knight. On the way to the club, Tupac's car was fired upon by unknown intruders who were in a white Cadillac.

Tupac received four bullet wounds (two in the chest, one each in the arm and thigh), and fragments of car glass hit Suga. The victims were taken to the Nevada Medical Center. In the hospital, after a series of unsuccessful attempts to get out of bed, Shakur, who was under the influence of strong painkillers, was connected to an artificial life support apparatus. Then, by means of barbiturates, the singer was immersed in an artificial coma, but he could not survive.

On the afternoon of September 13, 1996, Tupac Shakur died in the intensive care unit. His mother, Afeni Shakur, decided to stop the futile attempts of doctors to bring her son back to life. The rapper's official cause of death was respiratory failure and cardiac arrest due to multiple gunshot wounds. On September 14, Tupac's body was cremated.

The criminals who shot Shakur have not been identified, so the topic of the murder of the great hip-hop artist is the subject of heated discussions. One version of what happened suggests that Tupac died through the fault of representatives of the warring East Coast faction.

The vast majority of Tupac's songs are about the hard life in the ghetto, oppression, violence, racism, poverty, problems of society and politics. In addition, in his singles, Shakur, embroiled in feuds between East Coast and West Coast rappers, insulted enemies. The so-called Two Coast War has sparked feuds between other hip-hop artists and music producers, including East Coast frontman The Notorious B.I.G. and label Bad Boy Records.

TUPAC SHAKUR FILM AND TV CAREER

In 1991, Tupac first appeared on the television screen - in the TV series Solid Trouble directed by Dan Aykroyd, and in 1992 he played the role of Bishop in the crime thriller about the plight of Harlem residents - The Authority with Omar Epps, Vincent Laresca, Samuel L. .Jackson and Queen Latifah. In 1993, he played in an episode of the fifth season of the comedy project about black students "Another World" and starred in John Singleton's drama "Poetic Justice" with Janet Jackson, which received two MTV awards, as well as "Golden Raspberry". At the same time, the picture itself was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe in the Best Song category (Again).

Tupac starred in the films "

" (1994) with Duane Martin, "Bullet" (1995) with Mickey Rourke, as well as the 1997 tapes "Dead End" with Tim Rotomy "Criminal Connections" with James Belushi.

In 2017, the premiere of the biographical drama about the cult rapper Tupac "2pac: Legend" (All Eyez on Me) took place with the participation of such actors as Demetrius Shipp Jr., Danai Jackesay Gurira, Katerina Graham, Bruce Davison, Lauren Cohan, Corey Hardrict and others The film was originally directed by John Singleton, but left the project due to creative differences. However, it was this director who was approved by Shakur's mother during her lifetime to create a biopic. Yet in the director's chair was Benny Boom. When he saw a photo of actor Demetrius Shipp Jr. during the casting for the role of Tupac, he thought that he was Shakur.

As for Singleton, the director intends to shoot his own tape about an influential figure in the world of hip-hop.

After watching the film "2pac: Legend", the singer, actress and writer Jada Pinkett-Smith was dissatisfied with the biopic about her close friend, who could have turned 46 on June 16, 2017. Jada, who met Tupac at the Baltimore School of the Arts and warmly communicated with him until the singer's death, noted that her relationship with the rapper was incorrectly presented in the picture, and some scenes were just fiction. At the same time, Pinkett expressed her gratitude to the leading actor - aspiring actor Demetrius Shipp Jr. - and actress Katerina Graham, who played Jada in the film, assuring both that her dissatisfaction had nothing to do with how they showed themselves in the frame: “Thank you for putting so much soul into your characters. You did a great job with what you were given."

By the way, the free interpretation of director Benny Boom did not please many experts and people who personally knew Shakur. Thus, RogerEbert critic Nick Allen wrote: “This film is one of the worst musical biopics I have ever seen. The tape, perhaps, will confuse and not delight those who are not familiar with the work and life of the rap prophet Tupac Shakur. And the American hip-hop artist 50 Cent dubbed the picture "2pac: Legend" "garbage". In his opinion, the film was supposed to become a classic, like The Voice of the Streets, but in the end it did not live up to the expectations of Tupac fans.

TUPAC SHAKUR PERSONAL LIFE

The rapper's personal life was rich in novels, but the singer, absorbed in his work, did not have a serious relationship. 2Pac still dreamed of a family and children, he wanted to name his daughter Star, and his son Michelangelo, but he did not have time to get offspring.

In 1995, while in prison, Tupac Shakur married actress Keisha Morris, whom he met a few months before the wedding. But the union of the couple was later annulled, while the young people retained friendly communication. Shortly before his death, Tupac became engaged to Kidada Jones.

Early life

EARLY LIFE

CAREER

In 2015, 19-year-old Dua Lipa signed a recording contract with Warner Music Group. This event marked the beginning of her dizzying musical career. In the same year, the first two singles of the singer ("New Love" and "Be the One") were released, which soared into the top ten of the European charts.

Already during this period, Dua Lipa's musical style took shape, which she herself defines as "dark pop". Her music actively uses electronic rhythms and synthesizers, and the arrangement most often includes electric guitars, drums and piano. Music critics and fans note the passion, expression and courage that is felt in every song of Dua. Although the first studio album entitled "Dua Lipa" was released only on June 2, 2017, by that time the British singer was already widely known in Europe, North America and Australia. The singles "Last Dance" (February 18, 2016) and "Hotter Than Hell" (May 6, 2016) made it possible to gain popularity in the UK, and "Blow Your Mind" (August 26, 2016), in turn, appealed to listeners in North America.

As part of the album, Dua Lipa's most famous song "New Rules" was also released for the first time. It is noteworthy that the video clip for this hit has collected more than 1 billion 300 million views on YouTube, thanks to which in 2018 Dua became the youngest pop singer, whose video scored more than 1 billion views. Music critics and fans note the passion, expression and courage that is felt in every song of Dua. A significant moment in the singer's career and a kind of symbol of her recognition in most of the world was Dua's participation in the opening ceremony of the Champions League football final at the Olimpiysky Stadium in Kyiv on May 26, 2018. In front of the assembled audience, the vocalist performed with the single "New Rules" mentioned above.

Separately, it is necessary to mention that in 2018 Dua Lipa won the prestigious British music awards ceremony "Brit Awards" in two categories at once - "Breakthrough of the Year" and "Best British Performer".

DUA LIPA'S PERSONAL LIFE

Dua Lipa is single and has no children. The singer is quite closed in the matter of personal relationships and never gives information about her men. This is partly the reason for the numerous rumors, gossip and scandals associated with the name of Dua.

According to her fans, the girl very often changes her boyfriends. In addition to his alleged relationships with model Isaac Carew and Paula Klein, a musician from the band Lany, Dua was suspected of having links with Coldpay's Chris Martin and DJ and vocalist Calvin Harris. After the end of the Champions League final in Kyiv, numerous articles appeared in the press about the sudden, turbulent and extremely fleeting relationship between Dua Lipa and Real Madrid star player Marco Asensio. However, the girl soon published a refutation of these rumors on her pages on social networks. In 2019, Dua Lipa opened up about her relationship with Bella and Gigi Hadid's brother, Anwar Hadid. He is 3 years younger than the singer - at the time the relationship began, he was 21. The couple regularly appeared together, and in the summer of 2020, the singer and her boyfriend celebrated their first anniversary. However, they broke up in December 2021.

At school, the musician did not study well, he constantly argued with teachers and clashed with the director. At the age of 16, Roddy Rich finally realized that he wanted to connect his life with music, and bought basic musical equipment.

Having no space for a studio, he set it up at home and began to try to record the first tracks. He invented the texts himself, in them he told the story of life. In his youth, he even had a chance to perform on stage a couple of times, but then the rapper was swallowed up by street life, and for a while he moved away from music. Only in 2017, the young man again returned to the recording equipment.

Personal life

Roddy has pages on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, where he shares with subscribers fresh photos from life and shots from concerts and while recording songs. The position of the artist obliges him to maintain profiles, although the rapper himself does not like social networks too much, because he is too focused on music and wants to be known first of all as a musician.

Subscribers do not know anything about Ricch's personal life, the singer tries to keep this information away from the public eye. Although the girls visiting his accounts have repeatedly noted the rapper's external attractiveness.

Music

In the fall of 2017, Roddy released his first successful mixtape called Feed Tha Streets, which included songs from Chase Tha Bag, Hoodricch and Fucc It Up. He received a lot of positive feedback and drew attention to the rapper from artists such as Meek Mill, Nipsey Hussle, DJ Mustard and 03 Greedo. Following this, Ricch's video for the track Fucc It Up was released on the popular video hosting YouTube.

When Atlantic Records heard the song, they were surprised that the guy from Compton sounded like Atlanta. The company's senior vice president, Dallas Martin, immediately invited him to the studio and suggested that Ricch record 3 songs. It was clear that the rapper knows what he wants: he writes compositions every day, listens to people's opinions and is open to advice.

In 2018, the musician released the mini-album Be 4 Tha Fame, which was well received by the public. And in the spring of the same year, the American rapper Nipsey Hussle invited Roddy to perform at his concert, which was held in Los Angeles. Real popularity came to his biography a little later.

In the summer of 2018, the singer released the track Die Young, dedicated to his childhood friend. According to the author, the composition was written on the night of XXXTentacion's death and contains a story about the desire to live to the fullest. Later, he shot a video for the song, which in the first months of being on YouTube gained 80 million views and 120 million downloads from other resources.

Productive work with the label helped the rapper not only become famous, but also make acquaintances with other artists. Now Roddy calls Meek Mill and Nipsey Hussle brothers who helped him and showed him the right path in life. They were not only friends, but also worked productively, with Nipsey the singer even recorded a joint track Racks In the Middle. This song was the last for Nipsey, who was killed a couple of months after this event. Subsequently, the composition was nominated for a Grammy.

Another composition, Ricch The Box, gained immense popularity. According to the artist, this is just a “cool” song, under which Internet users like to record videos for the TikTok application. Although the text is not very entertaining, it tells how the performer ended up in prison for illegal possession of weapons. Producer 30 Roc remembers the work on The Box with a smile: when Roddy first turned it on, the man heard a squeaky sound - it was the intro, and when the intro ended, the bass began, rhythmically intertwined with singing.

During the performance of the track at concerts, the fans went crazy, sometimes he had to sing it several times in one performance. Ricch himself is not too interested in the number of views or downloads of a particular composition, he sees the necessary return at concerts, when fans go crazy at the sound of the song, sing along, shout and applaud.

Speaking about creativity, Ricch said that when writing music, he was guided by Future, Young Thug and Lil Wayne, the latter especially inspired him with double meaning lyrics. The sound of the songs of these artists helped him understand what his songs should be. He also recalls history from the very beginning of the journey. Once the guy found out that the American rapper Thug bet $ 40 thousand that Roddy would become super popular. The musician is grateful that the artist believed in him and never doubted his talent.

The full name of the artist is Aubrey Drake Graham, he was born on October 24, 1986 in Toronto in the family of African American Dennis Graham and Jewish Sandra Sher. At one time, Dennis was a famous musician and collaborated with the legendary Jerry Lee Lewis, but he traded his musical career for drugs. After the first term for the distribution of narcotic substances, he promised his wife to quit, but did not keep his word.

The most successful rapper in the history of hip-hop, Drake began his series of mixtapes. In just a few years, an ordinary Canadian guy became a rap idol, collected a heap of prestigious awards and became one of the most influential musicians in the world.

CHILDHOOD

The full name of the artist is Aubrey Drake Graham, he was born on October 24, 1986 in Toronto in the family of African American Dennis Graham and Jewish Sandra Sher. At one time, Dennis was a famous musician and collaborated with the legendary Jerry Lee Lewis, but he traded his musical career for drugs. After the first term for the distribution of narcotic substances, he promised his wife to quit, but did not keep his word.

Sandra did not want to wait for her husband to deign to settle down, and divorced him. From constant experiences, she began to progress rheumatoid arthritis, which she suffered from her youth. Together with her five-year-old son, Sandra moved to the outskirts of Toronto, and Dennis again went to jail.

The woman was helped to raise her son by her brother, who owned a small custom-made furniture business. Suffering from pain in her joints, she stopped working and devoted all her time to raising her son. Aubrey went to a Jewish school, studied music and literature.

Having learned about the next release of her ex-husband, Sandra did not interfere with his communication with her son. Aubrey was a reasonable guy, and she was not afraid that Dennis would have a bad influence on him.

THE BEGINNING OF A CAREER

Sandra made sure that her son devoted every minute of his time to study and creativity. After classes at school, Aubrey attended a theater group, went in for sports, tap dance, ballet and music.

His friend's father was a casting agent, it was thanks to him that fifteen-year-old Aubrey landed a significant role in the popular youth project Degrassi. Filming in the series and the first popularity prevented Aubrey, who even then began to call himself Drake, to study at a prestigious college, and he left school with a light heart and to the strong displeasure of his mother.

In the series, Drake played several seasons, and when the filming ended, he already knew that he did not want to be an actor. In addition, Sandra felt worse and worse, Drake had to take care of his mother, and the money he received for participating in Degrassi was not enough for this.

CALL OF BLOOD

According to Drake, music is in his blood, because his father played with Jerry Lee himself, and his grandmother nursed future soul queen Aretha Franklin. By the beginning of 2006, the young man was seriously interested in music, and finally Dennis, who had settled down, advised him to dilute the recitative with singing. Subsequently, this will become Drake's trademark and he will be grateful to his father for advice.

After two mixtapes that instantly became popular, in 2009 Drake released a mini "So Far Gone" under October's Very Own label. The disc included seven tracks that reliably drove the name of Drake into the heads of even those who were far from rap music.

RAP CRUNER #1

A combination of rapping and singing, polished by Dionne Osbourne's vocal lessons, as well as a sense of style and the ability to express what he feels, made Drake a star before his debut album was released. Mini "So Far Gone" went gold and was named the best rap album of 2010. All subsequent Drake albums met the same fate. The first full-length album "Thank Me Later", released in the summer of 2010, confirmed the birth of a new star. The album contains 14 songs, including the gentle "The Resistance", the melancholy "Fancy" and, of course, "Find You Love", in which Drake uniquely wove vocals with a leisurely beat.

“Take Care” followed, and the hip-hop community, which, contrary to speculation, is a very conservative subculture, was forced to accept new rules of the game. The third album "Nothing Was the Same" unconditionally became the best album of 2013 and amazed the listeners with its emotional power, the revelation of a man who does not even try to seem brutal, as is customary in hip-hop culture. Here Drake is amazingly sincere. He can afford to appear weak and vulnerable. The album was created with the participation of Drake's old friends Noah "40" Shebib and Dionne Osbourne.

The subtle and lyrical Drake was neither black nor white, he sang more than he read and balanced on that fine line that separates art from vulgarity.

In “Views” and “More Life” released two years later, Drake again sings about love, and in such a way that everyone wants to sing along with him. "More Life" features Kanye West and Sampha. Drake's commercial success breaks all records, and fans fight to the death, arguing which of his compositions is better. Luxurious video clips take first place in all sorts of hit parades and charts. In just a few years, the guy from Toronto managed to create a unique style and become one of the most influential musicians in the world. DRAKE'S

PERSONAL LIFE

Aubrey is a big lover of women and does not even think to hide it. Reporters vying with each other talk about his novels. It is known that he was in love with Nicki Minaj and met with Rihanna, the break with which he was painfully worried.

In 2017, he appeared at events with the famous NBC reporter Rosalynn Gold-Onwood, and in early 2018 with an Instagram model with a strange name Malaika for a Russian ear. In the summer of 2018, it became known that the French porn actress gave birth to a child from Drake. But which of them will be Drake's chosen one? Who will get the fabulously expensive collection of Birkin bags that he put together for his future wife?

The musician is not ready to answer this question, but one thing is clear to everyone. The main woman of his life is still his mother. Sandra is an amazingly beautiful woman, and Drake is very proud of her. For her, he bought a house in Toronto and often visits her. The musician himself lives in California, he has a huge estate with a real castle, waterfalls and a park area, which is decorated with statues of puffy women.

On March 5, the fourth mini-album Scary Hours 2 was released, it contains guest appearances from Lil Baby and Rick Ross.

In September 2021, the rapper releases his 6th studio album "Certified Lover Boy", the release of which has been postponed several times. On the new record, collaborations with Drake featured such artists as Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Young Thug, Future, 21 Savage, Tems, Project Pat, Yebba, Giveon and Ty Dolla $ign. The track listing of the album and the guest artists were kept strictly secret and were only revealed to the public a few hours before the release.

Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), better known as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer.

Tyler, The Creator is a rap artist and a talented part-time provocateur. He is not like any celebrity, while very organically fits into the modern entertainment industry.

Starting to play music, the guy eventually expanded the scope of his professional activities and literally created a cult around his own clothing brand called Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (abbreviated as OFWGKTA). Thus, Tyler became something of a multimedia musician-businessman.

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH

Tyler Gregory Okonma was born on March 6, 1991 in the tiny American town of Ladera Heights, located in California. From his father, he inherited Nigerian roots, and from his mother - European-Canadian. The performer said that he had never seen his father and did not communicate with him.

As a child, he lived in Ladera Heights and Hawthorne (located in southwest Los Angeles). Already at the age of 7, the future rap artist was drawing in his imagination the cover design for fictional music albums, including songs that were not even written. By the age of 14, Tyler, without the help of a teacher, mastered playing the classical keyboard instrument.

During 12 years of study in Los Angeles and Sacramento, the rapper constantly changed schools, as a result, their number reached 12. The performer has a 2-week experience in the FedEx postal company and a 2-year experience in the world-famous Starbucks coffee shop.

With the help of the international social network Myspace, the rapper came up with a stage name for himself. As an ordinary user, he posted various media content on the Web and added the prefix The Creator to the main name Tyler. Over time, the name in the artist's profile was displayed as Tyler, The Creator.

MUSIC

The creative biography of a talented hip-hop artist is associated with collaboration with the British independent label XL Recordings, as well as with his own record company Odd Future Records. In addition to building a solo career, Tyler, The Creator is developing as the leader of the OFWGKTA team, which performs songs in the alternative hip-hop genre.

Okonma himself rapped for a large number of the group's compositions, as well as producing them and creating photos for the covers of all OFWGKTA releases. The guy said in an interview with DJ Semtex that he designs all the costumes and paraphernalia of the members.

On December 25, 2009, Tyler Gregory, without anyone's help, prepared the first mixtape for release, which was entitled Bastard. The editors of the glossy publication Pitchfork Media awarded the musical work of the aspiring solo musician the 32nd position in the "Best Release of the Year" rating.

In the winter of 2011, Okonma presented a video for the song Yonkers, which is the first single from his debut studio album Goblin, which hit stores on May 10 of the same year. The visual work attracted the attention of some media and was later nominated for the music award of the popular television channel MTV.

Tyler Gregory Okonma is ranked #9 in Complex's Top 25 Rappers Under 25 in the World. In 2015 and 2016, the hip-hop artist flew to Russia and gave several successful concerts in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.

Tyler has been criticized for controversial homophobic language in his songs and tweets. The performer quickly responded to criticism and stated that he is not a homophobe and uses epithets of this kind as an adjective to describe worthless nonsense, and among his fans there are people with a non-traditional sexual orientation who are not offended by texts of this nature.

After the release of the album Scum Fuck Flower in the songs Garden Shed, Foreword, I Ain't Got Time and Ziploc, which were released separately, critics discovered the hidden meaning and considered that the artist confessed his orientation. In the summer of 2017, Tyler told one publication that he was in a relationship with a young man when he was 15 years old, but over time he denied his own words and said that he used it as a figurative expression.

PERSONAL LIFE

None of the official sources contain reliable information about the artist's personal life and the presence of a girlfriend, but rumors about non-traditional orientation are constantly fueled by various events.

For example, a mixed reaction followed after a public statement by the singer and actor Jaden Smith, who is a friend of Tyler. At the rapper's concert, the son of a famous actor very emotionally announced that Okonma is not only his best friend, but also a boyfriend. The performer himself translated it all as a joke and continued to develop this topic on his pages on Instagram and Twitter.

In the fall of 2018, the young man got into a car accident when he tried to park his snow-white Tesla X in one of the districts of Los Angeles. Tyler's fans sounded the alarm, but later it became known that no one was injured during the incident. The musician denied rumors that he was drunk at that time, saying that he allegedly simply did not get enough sleep the day before.

TYLER, THE CREATOR TODAY

In 2020, the artist received a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album of the Year. Recall that the victory was brought to him by the disc Igor, consisting of 12 tracks. During this period of time, he held several concerts in his native country. At the end of June 2021. The LP topped 16 tracks.

Pharrell Williams, 21 Savage and Tyler, the Creator have acquired a joint track. The release of the work took place on all component structures on June 10.

Rakim Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known by his stage name ASAP Rocky (stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, record producer, actor, model and music video director. He is a member of the hip hop group A$AP Mob, from which he adopted his moniker.

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH

The rapper, whose real name is Rakim Myers, was born in October 1988. Life in one of the most criminal areas of New York left its mark on the artist's biography. His father was a drug dealer, which eventually landed him in jail. After that, she and her mother, brother and sister lived in shelters because there was not enough money.

To escape from the difficult reality, the boy was helped by rap, which he began to engage in, imitating his older brother. But that soon did not happen. In order to somehow help the family, Rakim started selling drugs and also ended up behind bars. He spent 2 weeks in detention sharing a cell with rapper Casanova. After his release, the young man realized that it was time to change his life, and seriously took up music.

MUSIC

At first, the artist's style was close to trillwave or cloud, but over time he developed his own, easily recognizable, somewhat lyrical sound, combining Kid Cudi's melody and Mason Beta's Harlem brilliance. ASAP Rocky himself said that he could, of course, write something funny, but in music, as well as in clothes, he prefers gloomy tones.

In 2007, the rapper joined the ASAP Mob collective, the first part of the name of which is an abbreviation of Always Strive And Prosper - “Always strive and prosper.” In the team, Rakim became especially close to ASAP Yams, who became his close friend and mentor.

The first wave of popularity came to the star after 4 years. His single Peso hit the Net and then aired on Hot 97 New York radio. Shortly after that, the artist presented a video for the Purple Swag track, which attracted the attention of recording studios.

October 2011 marked the release of the debut mixtape Live. love. A$AP, which brought the rapper not only critical acclaim, but also contracts with RCA Records and Polo Grounds Music. Some time later, the artist and ASAP Yams created their own label called A$AP Worldwide.

A significant moment in the career of ASAP Rocky was the opening act for Drake. Later, guests of the Pitchfork festival and the audience of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon could enjoy his work. The collaboration with Rihanna, with whom Rakim performed Cockiness (Love It) at the MTV Video Music Awards, was also successful.

The artist completed work on his first studio album in 2013, it was called Long. live. ASAP. Shortly before the release, the star's father died, which was a difficult moment for him. But he still found the strength to tour in support of the record.

Exit A.L.L.A. (from At. Long. Last. ASAP) was also not cloudless. A few days before the presentation, ASAP Yams passed away. Some time later, Rakim released the track Cozy Tapes, Vol. 1, dedicated to the memory of a friend.

As for the release, it was again successful and climbed to the top of the charts in the US and Canada. The highlight of the track list was the single Everyday, recorded together with Rob Stewart, Mark Ronson and Miguel.

In the same 2015, the performer presented a collaboration with the popular singer Selena Gomez. The composition was called Good For You, it hit the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, and also received gold and platinum certifications.

Fans were looking forward to new records from the idol, but he decided to take a break. During this period, ASAP Rocky founded the creative agency AWGE with the team, doing business, producing music and directing videos.

News about the next release appeared in the summer of 2017. The album itself was presented only the following year and was called Testing. Part of the 17 songs featured Lenny Kravitz, Frank Ocean, British singer FKA twigs and Schoolboy Q. The track list included Fukk Sleep and Praise the Lord, which the listeners loved, but in general the disc was less successful than the previous ones.

2019 was marked by the arrival of the star in Moscow, where he gave a concert. This caused a lot of discussion, as did Rakim's acquaintance with Yegor Creed. Later, a screen of correspondence was published on the Web, in which ASAP Rocky allegedly tells a fan that he was paid for a photo with a Russian. Creed called her a fake.

In the same year, the hit Babushka Boi was released. The idea for the track came about after the rapper fell off his scooter and was forced to wear a headscarf to hide a scar on his face. Then the star's colleague, Frank Ocean, shared a photo of himself in a headscarf, under which ASAP Rocky left a comment that became the title of the single.

Although the song was released in August, it was recorded before the artist was arrested in Sweden in July. He was accused of gang beating, the evidence of the crime was a video published on the Web. But the rapper refused to admit guilt and shared his version of events. He posted on his Instagram account (the social network is banned in the Russian Federation, it belongs to the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation) a series of videos where it was seen how the victim was chasing Rakim and molesting girls.

Many celebrities have sided with the performer, including President Donald Trump. They demanded that the star be released immediately, but the Swedish authorities refused to go forward. After an investigation, ASAP Rocky's guilt was nevertheless proven, and he paid the fine.

During the time the artist was in custody, his colleague Alan Walker presented their joint track Live Fast. It was recorded as an anthem for the game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, in the style of which the music video was filmed.

FASHION

A singer with a bright appearance is often invited for fashion shoots. So, he became a representative of Dior and a model for Calvin Klein, for which he starred in a "barn" photo shoot in the company of the rest of the A $ AP Mob group. For his impeccable sense of style, Rakim was awarded 2nd place in the list of The Most Influential Person - 2017, compiled by the portal Highsnobiety. He even surpassed the well-known fashionista Kanye West.

In 2013, the musician himself became interested in design, founded the ASAP Rocky fashion brand in collaboration with Raf Simons. In addition, the rapper participated in the creation of collections for Guess Jeans and Under Armor. The star is proud of the results, saying that he is not into fashion, he is fashion.

In addition to clothing, the performer personally thinks over the design of the beds that are in his house. He even planned to sell them, but the price for the box, to which Rakim had a hand, reaches $100,000. The artist is sure that few people want to buy an interior item at the cost of a car.

PERSONAL LIFE

The novels of the star have always been vigorously discussed in the press, because he does not hide information about his personal life. Rakim once said that he likes girls who are not inferior to men, like Rihanna. He called her the ideal of femininity.

Over the years, the artist had a relationship with Chanel Iman and Iggy Azalea. The latter even got the name of the Live mixtape stamped into her skin. love. A$AP, but deleted the last part after breaking up.

The rapper was also credited with romances with other star colleagues, including Lana Del Rey. And after he was noticed in the company of model Kendall Jenner, many publications immediately wrote that they were a couple. But in an interview with ASAP, Rocky continued to say that he is a loner and is unlikely to be able to connect his life with someone forever.

In 2020, the media were full of rumors that the artist was in a relationship with Rihanna. Fans reacted to the information incredulously, as the performers were longtime friends and often appeared together in public. But in May of the following year, the rapper gave an interview to GQ magazine, in which he revealed the details of an affair with an industry colleague. He called her the love of his life and admitted that from the first meeting he had tender feelings for her. Soon the information was confirmed.

And in January 2022, it became known that Rihanna was pregnant with ASAP Rocky. In April, the media spread the news about the betrayal of the rapper with designer Amina Muaddi. However, despite this, Rakim and Rihanna went on vacation to Barbados together. And on their return, the couple was in for an unpleasant surprise - the police were waiting for them at the airport, who arrested ASAP Rocky for suspicion of attacking people with shooting.

In May, Rihanna gave the rapper a son.

INTERSTING FACTS

1. The weight of the star is 74 kg with a height of 179 cm. In the past, Rakim adhered to the principles of pescatarianism, then switched to vegetarianism, and already in 2019 he called himself a vegan.
2. According to the performer, when composing music, he looks for inspiration in psychedelic drugs.
3. The artist admires the work of Michael Jackson, The Diplomats, Three Six Mafia.
4. Rakim managed to try himself as an actor, starred in the films "Drug" and "Model Male - 2".

Travis Scott (formerly Travi $ Scott, La Flame, Cactus Jack, birth name - Jacques Berman Webster II) - trap artist, author of popular hits ("The Butterfly Effect", "Can't Say", "Antidote", "Mamacita ”) and three platinum albums (“Rodeo”, “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight”, “Astroworld”), Kylie Jenner’s boyfriend and father of her daughter. He is called a "phenomenon", "the epitome of glam avant-garde", "the voice of a new generation", "hip-hop king of chaos".

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH

The future extraordinary rap artist was born on April 30, 1992 in Houston, Texas, and grew up in his suburb of Missouri City. Due to the busyness of the parents, the boy's upbringing until the age of seven was carried out by his grandmother Seeley. His dad, Jacques, ran his own business, and his mom, Wanda, was a clerk at an AT&T mobile phone store.

Around 2005, Wanda became the sole breadwinner in their family, where, in addition to Travis, a younger sister and two brothers (younger Joshua and autistic older Marcus) were growing up. The head of the family decided to leave work in order to devote himself entirely to music. He played drums and was not the only musician in their family: my grandmother's husband was known as a virtuoso jazz performer, and Uncle Travis played the bass guitar. It was he who inspired the future rapper to take such a pseudonym, at least its first part.

The creatively gifted Jacques Jr. attended the prestigious Elkins High School, participated in theatrical productions, and in high school became interested in rap. In 2008, he posted his first EP on Myspace, created with a friend. Then, together with classmate Jason Eric, known under the pseudonym OG Che$$, he organized a group, rapped, and produced joint projects.

After graduating from school in 2009, the young man became a student at the University of Texas at San Antonio, though not for long. In his second year of study, he realized that he liked writing music and coming up with interesting lyrics more than mastering the secrets of "international business" (as the specialization he had chosen was called). As a result, he dropped out of school, despite the fact that his parents, trying to force his son to continue his education, deprived him of financial support.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Dropping out of college, Webster made attempts to get into the music industry. He went to New York, stayed with a friend and worked on his songs, but he did not manage to achieve an instant breakthrough and victories. Then he moved to Los Angeles, got the email address of sound engineer Anthony Kilhoffer, who worked with rapper Kanye West, and sent him his tracks for review. Then West himself, the head of the GOOD Music label, considered that the work of the rookie rapper deserves attention, and invited him to participate in the recording of the Cruel Summer compilation.

At the same time, Travis was approached by Grand Hustle owner, rapper and actor T.I. (Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr.), appreciating his composition "Lights (Love Sick)". When the young man came to his studio, T.I. performed a freestyle on the track of his new colleague "Animal", signed the young man as a solo artist on Epic Records, a subsidiary label of his company. Soon Scott also got a contract with Kanye's record company. In 2013, the talented Houstonian took part in the recording of West's Yeezus and Jay-Z's Magna Carta...Holy Grail albums, and also released his debut mixtape Owl Pharaoh, the release of which was postponed several times. As part of the promotion, Travis presented the song "Blocka La Flame" and the music video for the song "Quintana". In the same year, XXL magazine, dedicated to hip-hop culture, included his name in their list of freshers deserving special attention.

In 2014, the musician performed at the South by Southwest festival in Austin. He then released his second mixtape Days Before Rodeo, promoting it with the singles Don't Play and Mamacita, and embarked on a US tour in support of the forthcoming album. During it, he visited more than two dozen cities with concerts, including his native Houston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, impressing the audience with his extremely eccentric manner of performance. Many well-known colleagues in the workshop took part in the rapper's performances - Kanye West, Chris, Wale, Baby, etc.

In 2015, the rap artist released his debut studio CD, Rodeo, which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 pop chart and number one on the Top Rap Albums. Along with solo tracks, the author included collaborations with a number of world-famous rappers - with Canadian stars Weeknd, Justin Bieber, with compatriot singers Quavo, Young Thug, Future, Chief Keef. The composition Antidote from this disc hit the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and later became four times platinum.

In February 2016, the rapper was featured in designer Alexander Wang's #WANGSQUAD campaign featuring model Kylie Jenner, Canadian singer Alice Glass, American hip hop artist Vince Staples, DJ Metro Boomin, songwriter Tinanshi, rappers Big Sean, Vic Mensa, iLoveMakonnen and skateboarder Kerren Caples. In June, the single "Pick Up the Phone" with Young Thug was released, which was later awarded double platinum.

The musician's second album Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, released in September, took a leading position in the Billboard 200. The project features a social theme - drugs, indifference, as well as lyrical and emotional motives. According to the author, he tried to show that he is not only madly in love with rap, but also tries to make it perfect. In January of the following year, Travis Scott announced the release of his own clothing line, created in collaboration with the fashion brand Helmut Lang. In March, in partnership with Lil Uzi Vert and Quavo, the rapper released a video for the song "Go Off" and announced the start of a new concert tour in New Orleans, Louisiana, called "Birds Eye View" ("From a bird's eye view"), which ended in June in Eugene, Oregon. The European leg of this tour was launched in Paris at the end of the same month and completed in July in Turku, Finland.

He then joined the tour of Pulitzer Prize-winning Kendrick Lamar, who appeared in the video for "Goosebumps" from Travis' second album. In December, fans of rap music enthusiastically greeted his joint album with Quavo "Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho". He also participated in the project of the Canadian artist Drake "More Life". Their song "Portland" peaked at number ninth on the Billboard Hot 100.

The musician's latest record, Astroworld, released in 2018, earned particularly rave reviews from critics and fans, recognized as an exemplary record and a demonstration of his enormous achievements. Her concept is dedicated to a closed children's amusement park in the rap artist's hometown.

Travis Scott released several music videos in 2020, including "Antisocial" for a song with Ed Sheeran, "Wake up" and "Franchise" for a song with Young Thug and M.I.A. In addition, 2020 was a significant year for Travis thanks to the collaboration with McDonald's. The rapper and the global fast food chain have released a limited collection of The Cactus Jack Meal sets featuring a musician figure.

TRAVIS SCOTT'S PERSONAL LIFE

In 2017, the rapper began dating Kylie Jenner. The lovers appeared together at social events - at the Coachella festival, at a basketball game. They made a pair of butterfly tattoos in honor of the song "Butterfly".

In February 2018, the billionaire beauty gave him a daughter, Stormy, and he pleased her with a $1.4 million Ferrari, and presented a vintage 1950s Rolls-Royce for her birthday in August. In 2019, his beloved suspected him of treason. They quarreled, but soon decided to forget all the grievances, according to insiders, for the sake of their daughter. Before Kylie, the musician dated model Shantel Jeffries, and in 2015 there were rumors about his romantic relationship with Rihanna.

The rap artist would like to enter the architecture department at Harvard. He is a fan of the Broadway theater, dreams of releasing an album of cover versions of the show and writing his own musical.

Jackman Thomas Harlow (born March 13, 1998) is an American rapper from Louisville, Kentucky. Jack Harlow is an American rap artist, best known worldwide for his single Whats Poppin. His musical work is #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 with over 380 million streams on Spotify.

The guy is also one of the developers of the Private Garden group. The artist worked for the Atlantic Records label, which worked in America with producers Don Cannon and DJ Drama.

Early life of Jack Harlow

The full name of the artist is Jack Thomas Harlow. He was born on March 13, 1998 in the city of Shelbyville (Kentucky), located in the eastern part of the United States. The young artist's parents are Maggie and Brian Harlow. It is known that the two of them are engaged in business. The guy also has a brother.

In Shelbyville, Jack lived until the age of 12, where his parents had a house and a horse farm. In 2010, the family moved to Louisville, Kentucky. Here the performer lived most of his conscious age and began to build a career in rap music.

At the age of 12, Harlow began to rap for the first time. He and his friend Sharat used a Guitar Hero microphone and a laptop to record rhymes and songs. The boys released the Rippin' and Rappin' CD. For some time, novice artists sold copies of their debut album to other students at the school.

When Jack was in 7th grade, he finally got a professional microphone and created the first Extra Credit mixtape. The guy released it under the pseudonym Mr. Harlow. A little later, together with his friends, he created the musical group Moose Gang. In addition to collaborative songs, Harlow has recorded solo mixtapes Moose Gang and Music for the Deaf. But in the end, he did not want to post them on the Internet.

In his freshman year of high school, his YouTube videos caught the attention of major labels. However, then he refused to cooperate with all companies. In November 2014 (during his sophomore year) he released another mixtape, Finally Handsome, on SoundCloud. Harlow graduated from Atherton High School in 2016. The young performer decided not to go to university, but to develop more in music.

Musical style of Jack Harlow

Critics characterize the artist's songs as a combination of playful confidence and special emotional sincerity. This is manifested not only in the melody, but also in the lyrics. In the tracks, the artist often touches on topics that are relevant for young people - sexuality, "hanging out", drugs.

Jack talks about making rhythmic compositions. In turn, the text in them has a "personal but fun message that is focused on interaction with the audience."

His development as a rap artist was influenced by many contemporary artists. For example, Eminem, Drake, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Outkast, Paul Wall, Willie Nelson and others. Jack also believes that cinema influenced his unusual musical style. He always aspired to make his music look like short films.

The development of the musical career of Jack Harlow

The first commercial work of the artist was the mini-album The Handsome Harlow (2015) on the label SonaBLAST! records. Even then, Harlow was a recognizable performer on the Internet. Therefore, in addition to studying at school, he spoke at city events. Tickets for his concerts at the Mercury Ballroom, Headliners and Haymarket Whiskey Bar sold out completely.

In 2016, the young artist created the release of the joint song Never Woulda Known with Johnny Spanish. The single was produced by Syk Sense. In the same year, Jack graduated from high school and created the group Private Garden. After that, Harlow released the mixtape "18", which became the group's first musical work.

In October 2017, the song Dark Knight was released along with the video. For help in completing the musical part and writing the text block, the artist thanked CyHi the Prynce. The song subsequently became the lead single from Harlow's Gazebo mixtape. Then the performer went on a two-week tour in support of the album.

After moving to Atlanta in 2018, Jack worked at the Georgia State Cafeteria because music didn't generate much income. Harlow recalls this period fondly: “At some points I really liked to be nostalgic for work. It was there that I met a lot of cool guys, which really motivated me.” After working in the institution for about a month, the performer met DJ Drama.

In August 2018, it became known that the artist signed a contract with DJ Drama and Don Canon, a division of Atlantic Records. The artist then posted a music video for his single Sundown. Already in November, the performer went on tour in North America with his first work, Loose, recorded on the label.

Jack's songs began to increase in popularity faster. In 2019, Harlow released the Confetti mixtape, which included 12 songs. One of them was Thru the Night, recorded with Bryson Tiller in August. A little later, the artist went on a tour of the United States.

What's Poppin single

In January 2020, the artist released the track Whats Poppin, thanks to which he became popular and recognizable. The composition was produced by JustYaBoy. In turn, Cole Bennett, who was famous for the work of Juice Wrld, Lil Tecca, Lil Skies, helped with the filming of the video. The single quickly became popular on the Internet and for a long time kept in the top 10 world rankings. The video has received over 110 million views on YouTube.

Whats Poppin became Jack Harlow's first track to enter the Billboard Hot 100. Moreover, thanks to this work, the artist was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2021. The song was included in the category "Best Rap Performance" along with tracks from Big Sean, Megan Thee Stallion, Beyonce, Pop Smoke and DaBaby.

The popular song caught the attention of DaBaby, Tory Lanez, hip-hop legend Lil Wayne. Famous artists remixed it, which had over 250 million streams on Spotify.

On February 18, 2022, Harlow released the single "Nail Tech", the lead single from his upcoming second studio album and his first release in six-and-a-half months. The song performed well on the Hot 100 with a number 18 debut and peak and also received praise from Kanye West, who previously was involved in the production of "Industry Baby". On February 24, Harlow was featured West's song "Louie Bags" on his album, Donda 2.

Kendrick Lamar DuckworthKendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer. Since his mainstream debut in 2012 with Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, Lamar has been regarded as one of the most influential rappers of his generation and is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Aside from his solo career, he is also known as a member of the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy alongside his Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) label-mates Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q.

Youth and early career

In 1996, at the age of eight, he witnessed the filming of a music video for 2Pac and Dr. Dre "California Love", which later served as one of the main reasons to get into hip-hop music. As a teenager, he attended Centennial High School, where he was an honors student.

The boy got his name in honor of the vocalist of the band "The Tempation" Eddie Kendricks. When Kendrick grew up, he went to study at Centennial High School. By the way, popular rapper Dr. Dre. it was his creation of the future for the boy's future.

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was brought up in a large family in a rather disadvantaged area. He first witnessed a murder when he was 5 years old. A young drug dealer shot a guy near the Lamar family home.

During 2006 and 2007, Kendrick performed side by side with fellow rising West Coast stars Jay Rock and Ya Boy as the opening act for The Game. Under the name K-Dot, Lamar collaborates with The Game on "The Cypha" and "Cali Niggaz".

Raised in Compton, California, Lamar embarked on his musical career as a teenager under the stage name K.Dot, releasing a mixtape that garnered local attention and led to his signing with indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment. He began to gain recognition in 2010 after his first retail release, Overly Dedicated. The following year, he independently released his first studio album, Section.80, which included his first single "HiiiPoWeR". By that time, he had amassed a large online following and collaborated with several prominent hip hop artists.

Lamar's major-label debut album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, was released in 2012. It would go on to be certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His third album To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) incorporated elements of funk, soul, jazz, and spoken word. It became his first number one album on the Billboard 200. It was followed by Untitled Unmastered (2016), a collection of unreleased demos that originated during the recording sessions for To Pimp a Butterfly. He released his fourth album, Damn (2017); its lead single "Humble" topped the US Billboard Hot 100, while the album became the first non-classical and non-jazz album to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music. In 2018, he wrote and produced 14 songs for the soundtrack to the superhero film Black Panther.

Lamar has received many accolades over the course of his career, including 13 Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, six Billboard Music Awards, a Brit Award, 11 MTV Video Music Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and an Academy Award nomination. In 2012, MTV named him the Hottest MC in the Game on their annual list.[6] Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016. In 2015, he received the California State Senate's Generational Icon Award. Three of his studio albums have been listed in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020).

He began to gain recognition in 2010 after his first retail release, Overly Dedicated. The following year, he independently released his first studio album, Section.80, which included his first single "HiiiPoWeR". By that time, he had amassed a large online following and collaborated with several prominent hip hop artists.

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City

In the winter of 2012, the track "Cartoon & Cereal" penetrates the network, which, according to Kendrick, was intended for his second album. A music video was later filmed for the song. Complex magazine ranked "Cartoon & Cereal" number two on its "Top 50 Songs of 2012" list. Lamar, along with ASAP Rocky and 2 Chainz, took part in the Club Paradise Tour, rapper Drake's tour.

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City was released on October 22, 2012. The album received excellent critical acclaim, peaking at number two on the Billboard 200. In addition, the album sold 240,000 copies in its first week of release. In the same year, Fuse TV listed the single "Backseat Freestyle" as one of the "Top 40 Songs of 2012". A few months later, the album was certified gold. Online magazine HipHopDX dubbed Lamar "MC of the Year". 9 months after release, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City reaches platinum certification. In August 2013, Lamar's guest verse on Big Sean's "Control" caused a huge buzz in the hip-hop industry. In the track "Control", Kendrick proclaims himself "King of New York", referring to Tupac Shakur and referring to himself as his spiritual son.

To Pimp a Butterfly

On March 15, 2015, the rapper released his long-awaited third album, To Pimp a Batterfly. This work by Kendrick was unanimously named the best album of the year by the Rolling Stones and The New York Times. In the same year, the 57th Grammy Awards ceremony took place, at which Lamar received 11 nominations. Only Michael Jackson received more than him at a time.

Also in 2015, the rapper starred in the video for Taylor Swift, with whom they recorded a joint composition "Bad Blood", and in the feature film "Straight from Compton" (in the Russian-speaking environment it was called "Voice of the Streets"), dedicated to the legendary group "N.W.A".

It's just that Kendrick Lamar isn't like everyone else. His 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly is arguably the most outlandish bestseller of recent years: take the track “For Free (Interlude),” in which Lamar reads at machine-gun speed to the accompaniment of a whimsical, avant-jazz sound collage. ; Of course, it was decided against all logic to release this composition as one of the singles - and of course, it hit the charts separately. So Kendrick showed that he does not care about format considerations and producer calculation. A little further on the album - in the final epic 12-minute track "Mortal Man" - a kind of sound hologram of Tupac Shakur, who was killed in 1996, appeared, with whom Lamar entered into a detailed dialogue. Legitimization of his own creativity through a staged conversation with the late classic is a dubious adventure, but Kendrick succeeded in this too: perhaps simply because he no longer needed any legitimization at that time.

And also because the final question of the composition "Mortal Man" (after a long monologue about the contents of the album, Lamar asks: "Well, what do you think about this, Pac?") Tupac's ghost leaves unanswered. Here's another impressive deception of listener expectations: hip-hop is no stranger to bragging, and Kendrick also fully wins back most of the boastful rap clichés in his songs. It seemed logical to take advantage of the appearance of Shakur, so that Lamar “went down to the grave to bless”, but this does not happen: Kendrick’s request hangs in the air, the album “To Pimp a Butterfly” ends with an indefinite ellipsis.

Further - more: for every yang, that is, a song with the expected self-confident boasting, there is a yin - a composition in which Lamar describes fear, confusion, confusion. The first single from "To Pimp a Butterfly" was the peppy, positive track "i" ("I love myself!" - the backing vocalists pulled, accompanied by a life-affirming sample from the Isley Brothers); inside the record, his evil double "u" was revealed - a five-minute desperate self-flagellation, in which the artist calls himself a "fucking loser." He does not hide his paranoid fears: he used to be afraid of death, lying in wait for anyone who lives in Compton and is probably in trouble with the law - Lamar twice felt the cold of a gun pressed to his temple; now worries that his rise will be accidental and short-lived, and with great difficulty agrees to buy a modest house in the eastern suburbs of Los Angeles - and even that one is more for his parents than for himself. What if the money runs out tomorrow? What if it was just a decade long dream - and tomorrow he will again find himself in Compton penniless?

DAMN

On April 14, 2017, the guy released his fourth album, DAMN. A new sound at the intersection of genres, a strong emphasis on evangelical themes, as well as the former frankness and raising acute social topics had an effect - the album shot. The participation of third-party artists, among which flashed Rihanna, Zacari and the band "U2", also contributed to the popularity of the compositions.

The track “Humble” became the leader of the hit parades and charts, for which a video was released on March 30, 2017, which is the quintessence of the album.

In early 2018, DAMN was voted Best Rap Album at the Grammy Awards.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is the fifth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on May 13, 2022. This is his first album since the release of DAMN. in 2017. The record was released on PGLang, Lamar's newly formed label, and Top Dawg Entertainment, becoming the rapper's last release on it.

Personal life

The musician does not like to advertise his personal life, but still occasionally he appeared in public with a girl. Later, the media found out that her name was Whitney Alford.

In 2015, the rapper announced their engagement. Then he said that he studied at the same school with Whitney. Kendrick claims that Alford has been with him "from the start". And she gives him all kinds of support, without a girl, he would have given up long ago.

There is a stereotype that musicians who perform music in this genre are rather frivolous individuals. Hundreds of fans are constantly circling around them, some rappers change their life partners almost every month. But Lamar is not one of them. He is strikingly indifferent to other women. There is only room in his life for one, Whitney Alford. True, it is still unknown whether the wedding took place and whether the girl became his official wife. But anyway, they are happy together.

Despite the popularization of social networks, Kendrick prefers the good old live communication. But he did not manage to escape progress. So, after all, he has pages on Instagram and Twitter. True, according to Lamar, his agents are leading them for him. Plus, he admits that he is not at all friendly with gadgets, he constantly loses his mobile phone on tour.