Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, known professionally as Nas, is an American rapper, songwriter and entrepreneur. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas has released eight consecutive platinum and multi-platinum albums and has sold over 30 million records worldwide. He is also an entrepreneur through his own record label; he serves as associate publisher of Mass Appeal magazine and the co-founder of Mass Appeal Records.
Melissa Arnette Elliott, sometimes credited as Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, dancer, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with all-female R&B group Sista in the early-mid 1990s and later became a member of the Swing Mob collective along with childhood friend and longtime collaborator Timbaland, with whom she worked on projects for Aaliyah, 702, Total, and SWV. Following several collaborations and guest appearances, she launched her solo career in 1997 with her debut album Supa Dupa Fly, which spawned the top 20 single "Sock It 2 Me". The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, the highest-charting debut for a female rapper at the time.
Virginia's musical contribution to American culture has been diverse, and includes Piedmont blues, folk, brass, hip-hop, and rock and roll bands, as well as the founding origins of country music in the Bristol Recording sessions by Appalachian Virginians.
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and fashion designer. Williams and Chad Hugo comprise the record production duo The Neptunes, producing hip hop and R&B music. He is the lead vocalist of the band N*E*R*D, that he formed with Hugo and childhood friend, Shay Haley. He released his first solo single, "Frontin'", in 2003 and followed up with his debut solo album, In My Mind, in 2006. His second album, Girl, was released in March 2014 and included the commercially successful single, "Happy". As part of the Neptunes, Williams has produced numerous singles for various recording artists.
Clipse was an American hip hop duo, formed by brothers Gene "No Malice" Thornton and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. The group was affiliated with the production team The Neptunes, and in 2001 signed to their imprint Star Trak Entertainment.
Donnie Lewis, also known as Skillz, or Mad Skillz is an American rapper known for his acclaimed 1996 album From Where???, a reference to his origins in Virginia, not a New York City or Los Angeles rapper. He is also known for his yearly "Rap Ups," which he has done annually since 2002.
Hip hop or hip-hop, is a culture and art movement that began in the Bronx in New York City during the early 1970s. The origin of the word is often disputed. It is also argued as to whether hip hop started in the South or West Bronx. While the term hip hop is often used to refer exclusively to hip hop music, hip hop is characterized by nine elements, of which only four elements are considered essential to understand hip hop musically. The main elements of hip hop consist of four main pillars. Afrika Bambaataa of the hip hop collective Zulu Nation outlined the pillars of hip hop culture, coining the terms: "rapping", a rhythmic vocal rhyming style (orality); DJing, which is making music with record players and DJ mixers ; b-boying/b-girling/breakdancing (movement/dance); and graffiti. Other elements of hip hop subculture and arts movements beyond the main four are: hip hop culture and historical knowledge of the movement (intellectual/philosophical); beatboxing, a percussive vocal style; street entrepreneurship; hip hop language; and hip hop fashion and style, among others. The fifth element, although debated, is commonly considered either street knowledge, hip hop fashion, or beatboxing.
The Re-Up Gang are an American hip hop group formed in 2004, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The group was formed by Pusha T and Malice, brothers and members of Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, alongside Philadelphia-based rappers Ab-Liva and Sandman. The Re-Up Gang is perhaps best known for their signature We Got It 4 Cheap mixtape series.
Brian Joseph Jozwiak is a former American football offensive lineman who played college football at West Virginia University before playing professionally for the Kansas City Chiefs in the National Football League.
WWVU-FM is a College formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Morgantown, West Virginia, serving Eastern Monongalia County, West Virginia. WWVU-FM is owned and operated by West Virginia University.
WKEZ is a classic hip hop formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Bluefield, West Virginia, United States, serving Bluefield, West Virginia and Bluefield, Virginia. WKEZ is owned and operated by Alpha Media.
WKHK is a Country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Colonial Heights, Virginia, serving Richmond and Petersburg in Virginia. WKHK is owned and operated by SummitMedia. The station's studios and offices are located west of Richmond proper in unincorporated Chesterfield County, and its transmitter is located in Bensley, Virginia.
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop or rap music, is a music genre developed in the United States by inner-city African Americans in the late 1970s which consists of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records, and rhythmic beatboxing. While often used to refer solely to rapping, "hip hop" more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of hip hop culture, including DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.
A gablet roof or Dutch gable is a roof with a small gable at the top of a hip roof. The term Dutch gable is also used to mean a gable with parapets. Some sources refer to this as a gable-on-hip roof.
Classic Hip-Hop is a 24-hour syndicated music format owned and operated by American radio production and distribution company Westwood One. Launched in 2015, the format features classic hip-hop music from the 1980s and 1990s. It is targeted to adults ages 25 to 54, many of whom grew up listening to hip hop music as the genre developed and grew in popularity during this period.
Matthew Whaley School is a historic school building located in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Georgian Revival structure was built between 1929 and 1930 based on a design by noted Virginia architect Charles M. Robinson. The monumental school building was located adjacent to the Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg and "quickly became a local landmark of considerable architectural pretension." The building's exterior features Flemish bond brickwork with glazed headers trimmed with a modillion cornice, and a hipped slate roof pierced by gables and topped with a pair of glazed cupolas. The structure has been well preserved with little alteration. The school was operated as a training school for the College of William and Mary and as a general public school serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. In 1955, James Blair High School opened, and the Matthew Whaley School became a grammar school serving children from kindergarten through fifth grade. From 1997 to 1998, the school underwent a $5.4 million renovation which included improvements to make the building accessible to the handicapped and refurbishing the original slate roof.
The Church Hill North Historic District is a historic district in Richmond, Virginia, that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. An expansion of the district was listed in 2000. This added 37 acres (15 ha) to the original 70 acres (28 ha)
Shelley Marshaun Massenburg-Smith, better known by his stage name DRAM, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and actor from Hampton, Virginia. He is signed to Atlantic Records and Empire Distribution. His debut single was "Cha Cha", followed by his breakout single "Broccoli", featuring Lil Yachty, which peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100. In October 2016, he released his debut studio album, Big Baby DRAM.
