Chamillionaire was born Hakeem Seriki on November 28, 1979 in Washington, D.C. At the age of four he moved with his family to Acres Homes, Houston. His father was a muslim Nigerian immigrant and his mother was an African American Christian. Before becoming a rapper Chamillionaire held numerous jobs, including stocking trucks and transporting blood and urine for a medical lab. In November 2006 he released his first major solo album The Sound of Revenge through Chamillitary Entertainment and Universal Records. It includes contributions from Lil’ Flip, Lil Wayne, younger brother Rasaq, Natalie Alvarado, Krayzie Bone, Bun B, Scarface and Pastor Troy. The album sold 130,000 in its first week and has since gone platinum. His sophomore album Ultimate Victory was released on September 18, 2007. In the first week it sold nearly eighty thousand copies and an estimated three hundred and eighty thousand as of May 1, 2009. Venom is Chamillionaire’s third solo album and have Ludacris & The Game listed as featured guest. Other confirmed collaborators for the album include Pimp C, Good Charlotte, Z-Ro, Scarface, Three 6 Mafi, Bobby Valentino and J. Holiday. Listed producers of the project include Don Cannon, Mannie Fresh, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and Drumma Boy. Venom is scheduled for release sometime in 2009.
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Young Jeezy was born October 12, 1977 in Columbia, South Carolina but was raised in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2001 he released the independant album, Thuggin’ Under the Influence. It featured artists such as Freddy J.,Kinky B, Fidank, and Lil Jon, who also produced some of the tracks. He than released another independant album in 2003 entitled Come Shop Wit Me. Young Jeezy than ended up joining the band Boyz N Da Hood in 2004. They released their self titled debut in 2005 and it featured Easy E as a guest performer on the track "Gangstas". In 2007 he released Young Jeezy Presents USDA: Cold Summer. It was a mix tape that featured U.S.D.A, a group that featured Young Jeezy, Slick Pulla, and Blood Raw. The lead single was "White Girl" and the second lead single is "Corporate Thuggin’. In 2008, he released The Recession. The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 selling 260,000 copies in its first week of sales. The second week the album sold 90,000 copies more. As of May 2009, The Recession has sold nearly 620,000 copies in the US. and Over 400,000 copies worldwide. Young Jeezy has also appeared on numerous other rap and R&B singles such as "Say I" by Christina Millian, "I’m So Paid" by Akon, and "Love In This Club" by Usher.
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Hawthorne Heights was formed in Dayton, Ohio in June, 2001. Their line-up currently consists of vocalist and guitarist JT Woodruff, lead guitarist Micah Carli, bassist and vocalist Matt Ridenour and drummer Eron Bucciarelli. In late 2007, guitarist and vocalist Casey Calvert died of accidental causes, leaving the band as a four-piece. Toxicology and autopsy reports state Calvert died of Combined Drug Intoxication. The bands first album,The Silence in Black and White, was released in 2004. The album was slow to build sales at first; however, soon the video for the song Ohio Is for Lovers began getting airplay on MTV, and the band enjoyed breakout success at radio as well as a growing nationwide fan base, and the album became Victory Records’ highest selling debut. The Silence in Black and White peaked at number 56 on the Billboard charts. When Hawthorne Height’s second album, If Only You Were Lonely, was released on Feb 28, 2006, it debuted at number 3 on the Billboard charts, powered by the lead single "Saying Sorry" which has received regular airplay on MTV, VH1 and Fuse. Hawthorne Heights released their third album, Fragile Future was released in 2008. The album debuted at number twenty three on the Billboard 200.
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Ludacris is the stage name of Christopher Bridges born on September 11, 1977 in Champaign, Illinois. He is a rapper and also works occassional as an actor. He wrote his first rap song at age nine and joined an amateur rap group three years later. From 1998 to 1999, he studied music management at Georgia Tech and went on to work at Atlanta radio station Hot 97.5. WHTA. This is where he met rapper/producer Timbaland. Ludacris performed on the track "Phat Rabbit" as Ludacris on Timbaland’s 1998 album Tim’s Bio: Life from da Bassment. He then went on to release his debut album, Incognegro in 1999. The album has sold more than 300,000 copies. His second studio release was Back for the First Time which contained track taken from his first album. Since its release, it has been certified triple platinum. Word of Mouf, Ludacris’ third album was released in 2001. It has been his best selling album, selling more than 3.8 million copies. Ludacris has since released four more albums, Chicken-n-Beer in 2003, The Red Light District in 2004, Release Therapy in 2006 and Theater of the Mind in 2008. Ludacris is the highest-selling Southern hip hop solo artist of all time with over 15 million units sold in the United States and 20 million records sold worldwide. In addition to music, he has also acted in several movie roles which include 2 Fast 2 Furious, Crash, Hustle & Flow and Max Payne. Ludacris has also acted on television in Eve as a cab driver and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Darius Parker. In addition he has lent his voice to several video games which include Def Jam: Vendetta (2003), The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (2004) and NBA Ballers Phenom (2006).
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Faith Hill is the stage name of country music singer Faith Hill Perry. She was born on September 21, 1967 in Ridgeland, Mississippi. At 17, Hill formed a band that played in local rodeos. She briefly attended college at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi, but at 19 quit school to move to Nashville and pursue her dream of being a country singer. In her early days in Nashville, Hill auditioned to be a backup singer for Reba McEntire, but failed to secure the job. Faith Hill eventually became a secretary at a music publishing firm. A co-worker heard her singing to herself one day, and soon the head of her music publishing company was encouraging her to become a demo singer for the firm. In 1993, Faith Hill released her debut album, Take Me as I Am. It has since been certified triple platinum in the United States for sales of three million copies. Faith Hill has since gone on to release five more studio albums, two compilation albums and forty one singles. She has accumulated over 8 number-one singles and had 3 number-one albums on the Country charts. She has sold over thirty five million records to date.
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George Strait was born in Poteet, Texas on May 18, 1952. George Strait began playing with a rock band in Pearsall High School but his preference turned to country music. While stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii as a part of the 25th Infantry division (light), he began performing with an Army-sponsored band, Rambling Country, which played off-base under the name Santee. On October 6, 1972, while still in Hawaii, George and Norma welcomed their first child, Jenifer. George Strait was honorably discharged from the army in 1975. He chose to return to Southwest Texas State University, in San Marcos, Texas. He graduated in 1979 with a degree in agriculture. While attending college, Strait joined the Ace in the Hole Band, who had been advertising for a new lead singer. Beginning October 14, 1975, the band started playing at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, a local honky-tonk bar. In 1981, he released his debut album, Strait Country. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA and it includes the singles "Unwound", "Down and Out", and "If You’re Thinking You Want a Stranger (There’s One Coming Home)". George Straight has since released 24 studio albums, 2 live albums, 8 compilation albums and 5 Christmas albums. He has also issued 88 singles since 1981, with 44 reaching Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
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Breaking Benjamin was formed in 1998 by vocalist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. In late 2001 they added to their roster Aaron Fink and Mark Klepaski. The band signed to Hollywood Records in early 2002 after the success of an independently-released, self-titled EP, which sold all 2,000 copies that were manufactured. Breaking released their full-length, major-label debut, Saturate, on August 27, 2002. The album peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart and at 136 on the Billboard Top 200. It featured the singles "Polyamorous", "Skin", and "Medicate". Breaking Benjamin released their second album, We Are Not Alone, on June 29, 2004. The album featured the lead off single "So Cold", which reached number two on the United States Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Later in 2004, the band released the So Cold EP. The EP contained live recordings of We Are Not Alone’s "So Cold" (acoustic), "Breakdown", and "Away", as well as studio recordings of "Blow Me Away", and "Lady Bug". Breaking Benjamin Released Phobia in October 2006, Heading off the Album with the Single The Diary Of Jane, Which Made it to #2 on the US Modern Rock Chart’s.
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An American singer and songwriter, Hillary Duff was born on September 28,1987 in Houston, Texas. She started her career early by appearing in the Hallmark’s western mini-series True Women in 1997 at the age of ten years old. Her first major role was that of Wendy in the direct to video sequel to Casper titled, Casper Meets Wendy which was released in 1998. Than in 1999 she appeared in the television movie The Soul Collector. That role won her a Young Artist Award for "Best young actress in a supporting role." But, she got her real big break in the Disney Channel’s series Lizzy Mcguire. The series was a hit in the ratings and put Hillary Duff in the media spotlight. She parlayed that fame into her music career, releasing an album in 2003 entitled Metamorphosis. This album was a critical success, selling over four million copies and solidified her teen and pre-teen popularity. She then went on to create two more albums in 2004 and 2007, titled Hillary Duff and Dignity respectively. Hillary Duff has also released several compilation albums such as Most Wanted and 4Ever. She has also appeared in numerous guest spots on television series’ such as Joan Of Arcadia and the Ghost Whisperer.
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Whitney Houston was born on August 9, 1963 in East Orange, New Jersey. She is a direcr relative to several famous sold singers including mother Cissy Houston, cousin Dionne Warwick, and godmother Aretha Franklin. Houston spent some of her teenage years touring nightclubs with her mother while Cissy was performing, and she would occasionally get on stage and perform with her mother. In 1977, at age fourteen, she was the featured lead vocalist on the Michael Zager Band’s single "Life’s a Party". Then in 1978, at age fifteen, Houston sang background vocals on Chaka Khan’s hit single "I’m Every Woman", a song she would later turn into a hit for herself on her monstrous-selling soundtrack album The Bodyguard. In 1985 she released her self titled debut album. The album initially had a slow commercial response, but emerged as a success during 1986 with the help of three number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album serves as Houston’s best-selling studio album to date, with sales of over 30 million copies worldwide. Whitney Houston has since released five albums with total worldwide sales of over 140 million. She is ranked as the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 54 million certified albums.
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Black Eyed Peas is an American hip-hop group that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1995. The group is composed of Will.I.Am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie. The Black Eyed Peas was signed to Interscope Records and released their debut Behind the Front in mid 1998. The album won the Peas (and their accompanying live band, the Bucky Jonson) critical acclaim and success. It featured the single "Joints & Jams", which was included on the soundtrack of the Academy Award-nominated film Bulworth. Their second album, Bridging the Gap, was released in 2000; it featured the single "Request Line" featuring Macy Gray. The album sold 1.2 million copies worldwide. In 2003, the Black Eyed Peas released their third studio album, Elephunk. was their first commercially-successful album, selling over four million copies worldwide, and their first album to feature their new female vocalist, Fergie. Singles released from Elephunk included "Where Is the Love?", "Shut Up", "Hey Mama" and "Let’s Get It Started". The Black Eyed Peas has since gone on to release two more albums, "Monkey Business" in 2005 and "The E.N.D." in 2009. The Black Eyed Peas has has sold an estimated twenty seven million albums and singles worldwide.
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