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April Maiya is an American film producer, director and fashion designer.
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April Maiya is an American film producer, director and fashion designer.
April Maiya was born of Vietnamese and Pacific Island descent. Maiya grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles to conservative Buddhist parents. She attended the University of California as a political science pre-law major and subsequently made her home in New York City to pursue her creative passions in film, music and fashion. She became a professional documentary filmmaker. Maiya dated film director John Singleton and is currently married to a music industry personality.
From her hobby started in high school, Maiya founded Bella Honey, a lingerie swimwear line which debuted in Chris Brown "Yo" video. The brand was featured in Maxim, Stuff, FHM publications in the U.S. and Patricia Field boutique which subsequently landed the bikinis on HBO's popular Sex and the City series.
She started her career in music as a Music Supervisor for DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures under popular film and TV Producer and Director Reginald Hudlin at Black Entertainment Television (BET) as a producer for the hip hop show, "Rap City", and made her directorial debut while in film school in the critically acclaimed music documentary Chronicles of Junior M.A.F.I.A. featuring rappers: The Notorious B.I.G., Junior M.A.F.I.A. and Lil' Kim. With her love of documentary films, she went on to produce and direct Life After Death: The Movie (2007) detailing the story behind the shooting in front of New York's Hot 97 which landed rapper Lil' Kim in prison. The film featured actor Jamie Hector, a/k/a "Marlo Stansfield" of the HBO's television series The Wire , as the narrator.
Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names The Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta rap, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive laid-back lyrical delivery, offsetting the lyrics' often grim content.
Kimberly Denise Jones, better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, she would freestyle rap, influenced by fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and the Lady of Rage. In 1994, she was discovered by fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A.; their debut album, Conspiracy, generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand, better known by her stage name Foxy Brown, is an American rapper. Upon signing to Def Jam Recordings in 1996, she released her debut studio album, Ill Na Na in November of that year to critical and commercial success. It peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), sold over seven million units worldwide, and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "I'll Be".
Angela Martinez is an American radio personality, podcaster, former rapper, and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice of New York", she was prominently known for her 28-year run at New York City station Hot 97 (WQHT). She left the station in 2014 to join crosstown competitor Power 105.1 (WWPR).
Hard Core is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on November 12, 1996, by Undeas Recordings, Big Beat Records, and Atlantic Records. After achieving success with the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. and their album Conspiracy (1995), Kim began working on her solo album with the Notorious B.I.G. serving as the executive producer. She collaborated with a number of producers, such as Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Stevie J., David "Ski" Willis and Jermaine Dupri, among others. Other rappers, including Jay-Z, Lil' Cease and Puff Daddy were featured on the album.
Junior M.A.F.I.A. was an American hip hop group from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City. The backronym M.A.F.I.A. stands for Masters At Finding Intelligent Attitudes. They were formed and mentored by New York rapper The Notorious B.I.G. In 1995, they released their debut album, Conspiracy. The success of the group's singles "Player's Anthem" and "Get Money" helped launch the career of Lil' Kim as a solo artist.
La Bella Mafia is the third studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on March 4, 2003, by Atlantic Records. The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling one million copies in the United States.
James Lloyd, better known by his stage name Lil' Cease, is an American rapper and former member of hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A.
Mick Batyske, known by his stage name DJ MICK and formerly Mick Boogie, is an American DJ and entrepreneur. He is an A-list DJ and spun private parties for celebrities including Kanye West, LeBron James, Jay-Z and Will Smith. In addition to his mix tape releases, he has performed in venues internationally, including New York City, Dubai, Tokyo, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. As an entrepreneur, he has invested in various start-up companies including Localeur, in which he is also an advisor and consultant.
"Crush on You" is a song by American rapper Lil' Kim. The original version, a solo performance by fellow Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease, was released in 1996 on Lil' Kim's debut album Hard Core. In 1997 a remix of the song with Lil' Kim performing alongside Lil' Cease was released as a non-album single. The Notorious B.I.G. makes an uncredited appearance, performing the chorus, on both versions. The Remix peaked at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart.
Andrew Richard Capper is a British US-based director, journalist and former editor and executive producer at Vice Media. In 2018, he founded Happy Now Film.
Hillary Weston is the American former longtime manager and friend of female American rap artist Lil' Kim.
"Get Money" is a song by the American rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A., released as the third and final single from their debut album Conspiracy (1995). "Get Money," whose instrumental is fundamentally a sample of R&B singer Sylvia Striplin's 1981 song "You Can't Turn Me Away," was produced by EZ Elpee, rapped by the Notorious B.I.G. and Lil' Kim, and received a music video. B.I.G., formally, was featured, but at times was deemed, like Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease, a Junior M.A.F.I.A. member.
Adam Bhala Lough is an American film director, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker from Fairfax, Virginia. Known for his dramas about subcultures and popular youth cultures, several of Lough's films have been selected as part of the Sundance Film Festival, and is the only filmmaker with a feature film and a documentary in the festival, as well as a screenplay selected for the annual Sundance Screenwriter's Lab.
Notorious is a 2009 American biographical drama film directed by George Tillman Jr. and written by Reggie Rock Bythewood and Cheo Hodari Coker. It is based on the life of Brooklyn-based hip-hop artist The Notorious B.I.G. Much of the film dramatizes key events in Biggie's life: his criminal lifestyle, arrest and release from prison, his relationships with Sean Combs, Tupac Shakur, Lil' Kim and Faith Evans, his involvement in the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry and his drive-by-shooting murder on March 9, 1997. The film stars Jamal Woolard as Wallace, with Angela Bassett, Derek Luke, and Anthony Mackie in supporting roles. Biggie's mother, Voletta, served as a producer for the film, alongside his former managers Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts.
Lance "Un" Rivera is an American film director, film producer, screenwriter, record producer, and music executive.
Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly, known professionally as Rico Nasty, is an American rapper and singer from Maryland. She began self-releasing content in 2014, while in high school, and had released five solo mixtapes by late 2017. She gained a local, underground following with SoundCloud singles such as "iCarly" and "Hey Arnold". After gaining wider recognition with singles such as "Smack a Bitch" and "Poppin" in 2018, she signed to Atlantic Records where she released her sixth mixtape, Nasty (2018). This was followed by the collaborative mixtape Anger Management (2019) with long time associate Kenny Beats. Rico Nasty's debut studio album, Nightmare Vacation, was released in December 2020. Rico's seventh mixtape, Las Ruinas, was released on July 22, 2022.
Misa Hylton is an American stylist and fashion designer. Known as a pioneer in the fashion industry, she has styled many hip-hop and R&B artists since the 1990s, most notably Lil' Kim and Mary J. Blige. Hylton's style, referred to as "hip-hop glamorous," has been credited with influencing fashion trends in popular culture. Hylton is a global creative partner for MCM and was the centerpiece of the 2019 documentary The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion.
Juice Wrld: Into the Abyss is a 2021 documentary film, directed by Tommy Oliver. Focusing on the life and death of American rapper Juice Wrld, the documentary is the sixth and final part of the HBO Max documentary series Music Box. It premiered at the AFI Fest on November 12th, 2021, where it won the AFI Fest Documentary Audience Award, and it officially debuted on December 16th, 2021, with an exclusive preview at the Juice Wrld Day event held at Chicago's United Center on December 9th.