Description: Jamaican born DJ Clive “Kool Herc” Campbell is credited as being highly influential in the pioneering stage of hip hop music, in the Bronx, after moving to New York at the age of thirteen. Herc created the blueprint for hip hop music and culture by building upon the Jamaican tradition of toasting—impromptu, boastful poetry and speech over music—which he witnessed as a youth in Jamaica.
Description: James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, record producer, actor, author, and entrepreneur from Queens, New York. With the breakthrough success of his hit single "I Need a Beat" and the Radio LP, LL Cool J became an early hip-hop act to achieve mainstream success along with Kurtis Blow and Run-D.M.C.
Description: Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, composer, and actor. His music is characterized by lyrics focusing on the underside of society, delivered in his distinctively deep, gravelly voice. During the 1970s, he worked primarily in jazz, but since the 1980s his music has reflected greater influence from blues, vaudeville, and experimental genres.
Description: Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is a singer and actress, originally from the United States and now a Swiss citizen. Turner rose to prominence as part of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before launching a successful career as a solo performer. One of the best-selling recording artists of all time, she has been referred to as The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll and has sold more than 200 million records worldwide. Turner is noted for her energetic stage presence, powerful vocals, and career longevity
Description: Former gospel singer Sam Cooke broke ground in 1957 with the R&B/pop crossover hit “You Send Me.” Setting the stage for such later soul disciples as Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Bobby Womack and Curtis Mayfeld, Cooke wrapped his smooth, melodic tenor around such unforgettable songs as “Chain Gang,” “Cupid,” “Having a Party” and “Another Saturday Night.” His pioneering stance also extended to the executive suite as the founder of a record label and publishing company. And his activism on the civil rights front resulted in the quiet protest song “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
Description: Some 36 years after his untimely death, Donny Hathaway retains his reputation as a major influence among established and aspiring artists from Stevie Wonder and R. Kelly to India.Arie and Alicia Keys. Hathaway’s lithe vocals and skilled musicianship began drawing national attention in 1970 with “The Ghetto - Part 1.” His career soared after teaming with labelmate Roberta Flack on a series of duets (“Where is the Love,” “The Closer I Get to You”). His 1972 Live is considered one of the quintessential live albums ever recorded. He also co-wrote and performed the holiday standard “This Christmas.”
Description: Best known for her indelible 1961 version of wedding standard “At Last,” Etta James first took off in 1955 with the R&B chart-topper “The Wallflower.” Her gutsy, take-no-prisoner vocals colorfully interpreted everything from blues and R&B/soul to rock n’roll, jazz and gospel. Among other catalog notables: “If I Can’t Have You,” “Tell Mama” and “I’d Rather Go Blind.” Portrayed by Beyoncé in the 2008 film Cadillac Records, James released her last album in 2011 (The Dreamer) -- the same year that DJ Avicii (“Levels”) and Flo Rida (“Good Feeling) sampled her ’62 hit “Something’s Got a Hold on Me.” James died in 2012.
Description: Thanks to songs he and partner David Porter wrote for Sam & Dave (“Soul Man”) and others, Isaac Hayes was already a future Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee in the mid-‘60s. But the in-demand Stax Records session man didn’t stop there. His sonorous bass, shaved head and gold chains shook up the R&B status quo with the 1969 arrival of seminal debut album Hot Buttered Soul. Eschewing the standard three-minute single for 12-minute orchestral treatises (“Walk on By”) and similarly lengthy monologues (“By the Time I Get to Phoenix”), Hayes paved the way for disco and rap. His crowning achievement: the Academy Award-winning soundtrack for 1971’s Shaft.
Description: Patti LaBelle, aka the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Soul, first gained notoriety in the ‘60s and ‘70s with girl groups the Bluebelles and Labelle (“Lady Marmalade”). Graced with a three-octave soprano, LaBelle stepped out as a solo act in 1977. Over the next two decades, she traversed R&B, gospel and dance and pop terrain with “If Only You Knew,” “You Are My Friend,” “New Attitude,” “Stir It Up” and “On My Own” -- not to mention an electrifying version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
Description: There was no denying the formidable presence of Chaka Khan when she and R&B/funk band Rufus bolted onto the scene in 1974 with the Stevie Wonder composition “Tell Me Something Good.” Between recording projects with the group, the Windy City native belted out the first in a parade of solo hits with the 1978 anthem “I’m Every Woman” followed by “What Cha’ Gonna Do For Me,” “Through the Fire” and the R&B/hip-hop reworking of the Prince gem “I Feel For You.” Khan’s powerhouse vocals netted the singer her first solo nomination this year for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Description: Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, record executive, actor, and audio engineer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and was previously co-owner of Death Row Records. Dr. Dre began his career as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru in 1985, but found fame with the influential gangsta rap group N.W.A, which popularized explicit lyrics in rap to detail the violence of street life. He is credited as a key figure in the crafting and popularization of West Coast G-funk, a subgenre of hip hop characterized by a synthesizer foundation and slow, heavy beats. He was the second-richest figure
Dr. Dre T-Shirt
$24
Description: Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of hits, earning him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul".
Description: Stevland Hardaway Morris (né Judkins; born May 13, 1950), better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. A prominent figure in popular music, he is one of the most successful songwriters and musicians in the history of music. Through his heavy use of electronic instruments and innovative sounds, Wonder became a pioneer and influence to musicians of various genres including pop, rhythm and blues, soul, funk and rock
Description: Kobe Bean Bryant (/ˈkoʊbiː/ KOH-bee; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. As a shooting guard, Bryant entered the National Basketball Association (NBA) directly from high school, and played his entire 20-season professional career in the league with the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant won many accolades: five NBA championships, 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), two-time NBA Finals MVP winner. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the league's all-time regular season scoring and all-time postseason scoring li
Description: Kobe Bean Bryant (/ˈkoʊbiː/ KOH-bee; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. As a shooting guard, Bryant entered the National Basketball Association (NBA) directly from high school, and played his entire 20-season professional career in the league with the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant won many accolades: five NBA championships, 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), two-time NBA Finals MVP winner. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the league's all-time regular season scoring and all-time postseason scoring li
Description: Eleanora Fagan (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), professionally known as Billie Holiday, was an American jazz singer with a career spanning nearly thirty years. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She was known for her vocal delivery and improvisational skills.
Description: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (/mænˈdɛlə Xhosa: [xolíɬaɬa mandɛ̂ːla]; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalised racism and fostering racial reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.
Description: El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Arabic: ٱلْحَاجّ مَالِك ٱلشَّبَازّ, romanized: al-Ḥājj Mālik ash-Shabāzz, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965), better known as Malcolm X, was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a popular figure during the civil rights movement. He is best known for his staunch and controversial black racial advocacy, and for time spent as the vocal spokesperson of the Nation of Islam.
Description: Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), nicknamed "the Juice", is an American former football running back, broadcaster, actor, advertising spokesman, and convicted felon. Once a popular figure with the U.S. public, he is best known for being tried for the murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. Simpson was acquitted of the murders in criminal court, but was later found responsible for both deaths in a civil trial.
Description: Nicholas Edward Cave AO (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor, best known for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Cave's music is generally characterised by his baritone voice, emotional intensity, a wide variety of influences and lyrical obsessions with death, religion, love and violence
Description: Peter John Joseph Murphy (born 11 July 1957) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the vocalist of the goth rock band Bauhaus and later went on to release a number of solo albums, such as Love Hysteria, Deep, and Holy Smoke. Thin with prominent cheekbones, a baritone voice, and a penchant for gloomy poetics, he is often called the "Godfather of Goth"
Description: Nicholas Edward Cave AO (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor, best known for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Cave's music is generally characterised by his baritone voice, emotional intensity, a wide variety of influences and lyrical obsessions with death, religion, love and violence
