Call it R&B with a hip-hop urgency. “We’re just Call it R&B with a hip-hop urgency. “We’re just making sure that I’m felt in the streets as much as I’m felt on the soulful level,” says 20-year-old Songbook/ Atlantic recording artist Trey Songz.
The Petersburg, Virginia phenom didn’t always have a musical career in mind. As a child, there were no rigorous voice or piano lessons. In fact, all through high school, Trey was doing what most kids his age were doing: playing basketball, throwing parties, and getting dragged to church by his devout grandmother, who sang in a gospel choir. “I wasn’t even paying attention to R&B at the time,” says Trey. “I was listening to straight rap, like Biggie, Jay-Z, and Nas.” The only R&B artist who caught his attention was R. Kelly, whose work Trey reveres. “When it comes to R&B, he kills it. He gives you every part of the soul he can think of, from the gangsta to the gentleman,” says Trey, whose elastic tenor conjures a younger, fresher Kelly.
Ludacris was born Christopher Brian Bridges in Champaign, Illinois the son of Roberta Shields and Wayne Brian Bridges. Being of both African American and Native American descent. Early in his elementary years his family lived in Champaign, Illinois. At nine years old, he started rapping. He attended Emerson Middle School and eventually Oak Park and River Forest High School for his freshman year where he first met his most important musical influence, famed poet Justin Ryan Fyfe. Furthermore, his family moved to live in Atlanta, Georgia and in this time his father exposed him to all kinds of music ranging from Hip Hop to Rock. In Alanta, Georgia he attended Banneker High School. He is also a graduate of Georgia State University. In 2000 he got his breakthrough with his album titled "Back for the First Time" which reached 3x platinum. All albums following have either been 2x or 3x platinum, with his first film appearance being 2 Fast 2 Furious which was a success. Other film appearances include Crash and Hustle & Flow.
From Atlanta, Georgia – by way of Jamaica, Queens, New York – a unique and undeniable talent emerges in the music industry. Juaquin Malphurs, AKA Waka Flocka Flame, known also as Waka Flocka, and Waka for short. He was on born May 31, 1986.
Call him whatever you want, but you’re guaranteed not to forget his name – any of them. The preceding name, Waka, which was given to him by rapper and mentor Gucci Mane –is a short of his real name, Juaquin. Flocka is an interpretation of the Spanish “flaca,” which means thin or skinny, which is a description and nickname from his childhood. The surname, Flame, encompasses Waka’s ability to deliver hot lyrics like fiery flames from the mouth of a dragon.
In spite of the plethora of rap artists constantly emerging from Atlanta in the late 2000s, B.o.B., who was only 17 when he signed his first major-label record deal, was still unique. His borderline eccentricity and artistic mind, belied by his music's conventional Dirty South appeal, raised his stock above the many copycat Southern up-and-comers and, of course, welcomed comparisons to OutKast and, specifically, their offbeat half, André 3000. Although he grew up on the east side of Atlanta in Decatur, Bobby Ray Simmons was born in North Carolina on November 15, 1988.
The newly crowned “Princess Of the Roc,” Teairra Marí, wasn’t even born when Eric B. and Rakim unleashed “My Melody,” the hip-hop classic who’s sample is featured in her debut single, “Make Her Feel Good.” But when the 17-year-old Detroit native heard the bass-heavy gem recycled she immediately knew she had found the cornerstone of her signature sound. Teairra Marí recalls, “When I heard that track, I was like, ‘This is the one, because it’s simple but also huge.’”
Lloyd Banks is unsatisfied. Unsatisfied, despite having an incredibly successful 2003. A 2003 where he was crowned the street's number one artist, appeared on the year's top-selling record, and sold another 2 million-plus copies of an album with his own rap troupe. Lloyd Banks is so unsatisfied he's titled his G-Unit/Interscope Records debut The Hunger For More.
Born Katrina Laverne Taylor on April 18, 1974, in Miami, Florida, Trina was a popular student at Miami Northwestern High School. A majorette, she was also voted "Best Dressed" in her senior class. When she was 17, she began a relationship with Hollywood, the brother of rapper Trick Daddy, but this ended in tragedy in 1994 when Hollywood was murdered in his car. In order to make a living, Trina worked the night shift at AT&T as a telemarketer, and then got a job as an exotic dancer at a club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She used the money she earned through dancing to pay her tuition at real estate school, and quit dancing once she completed her studies.
Latino rapper Fat Joe (aka Fat Joe da Gangsta, Joey Crack, and his real name, Joe Cartagena) was raised in the South Bronx area of New York. It was through an older brother that Cartagena learned the ways of the street, as well as discovering rap music via the sounds of such groundbreaking artists as Theodore, Funky 4 + 1, and the Furious Five. Eventually going by the name of Fat Joe, the rapper secured a recording contract with the Relativity label in the early '90s, resulting in the release of his full-length debut, Represent, in 1993 (which spawned the single "Flow Joe," peaking at the number one spot on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart). Two years later, Fat Joe issued his sophomore effort, Jealous One's Envy, which included a cameo appearance by KRS-One as well as production contributions by the likes of DJ Premier, L.E.S., and Domingo. Around the same time, Fat Joe appeared on LL Cool J's big hit "I Shot Ya" (along with Foxy Brown and Keith Murray) and collaborated with Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon on a track from the "Envy" single, called "Firewater."
Dondria is a contemporary R&B singer who was discovered on /YouTube by So So Def founder Jermaine Dupri. Born Dondria Nicole in Dover, OK, and raised in Texas, she began singing at a young age in her church choir. In 2007 she created a /YouTube channel called Phatfffat to showcase her singing talent, and after building a sizable following online, she was contacted by Dupri, who flew her out to Atlanta and offered her a recording contract with So So Def/Island Def Jam. She made her recording debut on the label in 2008 with the single "Can't Stop," produced by Dupri and co-written by labelmate Chrisette Michele. Her full-length album debut, tentatively titled Dondria vs. Phatfffat (2008), was scheduled for release in November after being pushed back from its original street date in July. !
ay Johnson (aka Roscoe Dash) was born on April 02, 1990 in the state of Atlanta, GA. Jay was raised and grew up in Capital Homes where he developed a love for rap music by being around his older brother Erik “Undisputed” Armstead. . Like any younger brother Jay latched onto his older brother and started listening to all of his favorite rap artists such as: Outkast, Jay Z, Cash Money, T.I., and Ludacris. This inspired Jay to try and immolate his role models.
Raw, gritty and talented describe the lyrical talents of Rapper Meek Mill. His skills are so natural that he has a flow like no other. Born May 6, 1987 under the astrological sign of Taurus, Robert Rahmeek Williams adopted the rap name “Meek Mill” after family and friends from his neighborhood kept referencing him by his middle name.
The overindulgence of pop music sensibilities has forced Hip Hop music to once again turn to its youth for a regeneration of skills and street music values. Cassidy, a.k.a. "Da Problem," is the solution to the dilemma, but a major problem for all acts who rely on smoke and mirrors to mask their lack of microphone mastery. These qualities and respect for art are the reason Swizz Beats has knighted Cassidy as the debut act on his new label Full Surface Records.
born Sar’d Nasir, Philadelphia’s hardcore rapper Gillie da Kid was first thrown into the national spotlight in 2006 from a controversy with Cash Money Records and its star rapper, Lil Wayne, when he claimed to have ghostwritten for some of the label’s artists, particularly Wayne. Years before the embroilment, Gillie da Kid, real name Nasir Fard, and his Major Figgas clique were heavyweights in Philadelphia’s underground scene from pushing several independent records and mixtapes. The seven-person crew eventually signed to the Houston, TX-based Suave House Records toward the end of the ’90s, but when the label lost its distribution with Universal, Gillie went elsewhere to pursue a solo career. The boasting MC crossed paths with Cash Money CEO Bryan “Baby” Williams backstage at a concert in Philadelphia, and almost within a week, he was signed to the New Orleans label. Because of disputes over his publishing, however, a solo record never materialized; instead, he remained behind the scenes as a ghostwriter (though Cash Money still denies it). As did major talents B.G., Juvenile, and Mannie Fresh before him, he departed Cash Money, but still remained on good terms with Lil Wayne — that is, until 2006 when Wayne put out a set of unwarranted jabs against Gillie on one of his mixtapes. When Gillie let the cat out of the bag, the hip-hop press (both print and Internet) gave him tons of exposure. Mixtape gurus like DJ Kay Slay and DJ Drama were even seeking the rapper out to issue new material. He later inked a deal with rising indie label Babygrande Records, which issued The Best of the GDK Mixtapes compilation in March 2007…
Known as "protégé the Game" would be a hard label for an artist to live up to, but for the former Black Wall Street recording artist and North Philadelphia's own Cyssero there is a label that he not only lived up to it is a label that he plans to exceed
Known throughout Philadelphia for his hard hitting rap style and as a fearsome battle MC Cyssero journey with hip-hop began when he was young was William Penn High School where he began writing his first rhymes and lay down his fist recorded tracks, but what did Cyssero a street legend was his ability as a freestyle and battle MC Cyssero went head to head with many of Philadelphia's best MC's and always came out on top, it was these talents that caught the Black Wall Street CEO The GameThan Game was on a tour stop in Philadelphia Cyssero took backstage and spit for two hours longand who was so impressive that The Game made him apart of his entering and made it official by Cyssero on the road for the rest of the trip and give him a Black Wall Street chain that same night
Mario Barrett (known professionally as just Mario) was born in the city of Baltimore and raised in different parts of Maryland. His mother, Shawn, had a drug problem while young Mario was growing up, so the boy spent a lot of time being raised by his grandmother. In interviews, Mario has said that by the time he was four, he knew he wanted to be a singer. But he got sidetracked and eventually joined a gang and was selling drugs. His mother though, tried to keep him away from street life by encouraging his talent for singing and performing..
SUPER JAM TICKET'S $75, $49.50, 35, and $20.10
THIS THURSDAY ON-LINE ONLY!!!!!!!! BUY 100.3 SUPER JAM TICKET'S FROM 10AM TO 10PM USING CODE WORD-SUPER JAM
LIACOURAS CENTER BOX OFFICE MAIN ARENA LOBBY AT 1776 N.BROAD STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19121 REQULAR HOURS MON-FRI-10AM-5PM SAT-10AM-4PM SUN-CLOSED, EXCEPT WHEN THERE IS AN EVENT 215-204-8499
ONLINE-COMCASTTIX.COM
CHARGE BY PHONE-800-298-4200
