Crate Diggers: Roger Troutman
Showing posts with label Roger Troutman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roger Troutman. Show all posts

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Happy Birthday 2Pac

“For every dark night, there's a brighter day” - 2Pac
(2Pac)
2Pac was born as Lesane Crooks on June 16th, 1971 in East Harlem, New York, USA. In 1972 he was renamed to “Tupac Amaru Shakur”.
(Shakur as a baby)
His mother was apart of the Black Panther Party and his Godfather was Geronimo Pratt. His stepfather was Mutulu Shakur. At 12 years old Shakur enrolled in Harlem's 127th Street Repertory Ensemble and was cast as the Travis Younger character in the play “A Raisin in the Sun”, which was performed at the Apollo Theater. In 1986 his family moved to Baltimore, MD. Shakur started rapping in high school.
(Shakur as a teenager)
In 1988 his family moved to Marin City, CA. In 1990 he joined the Hip Hop group Digital Underground.
(Digital Underground in 1990)
He 1st rapped on record on the Digital Underground song “Same Song”. He then adopted the stage name “2Pac”. In 1991 he released his 1st solo album “2Pacalypse Now”. Also in 1991 he appeared in Nothing But Trouble.
(2Pac in 1991)
In 1992 he starred in Juice.
(2Pac in Juice (1992))
In 1993 he released “Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.”. Its hit singles were “I Get Around” and “Keep Ya Head Up”. He then formed the group “Thug Life”.
(2Pac in 1993)
Also in 1993 he starred in Poetic Justice with Janet Jackson.
(2Pac (Right) and Janet Jackson (Left) in Poetic Justice (1993))
In 1994 they released the album “Thug Life: Volume 1”. Also in 1994 he starred in Above the Rim. In 1995 Tupac released “Me Against the World”. Also in 1995 2Pac went to jail for sexual assault charges.
(2Pac in jail)
In 1996 “Me Against the World” won best rap album at the Soul Train Music Awards. The notable hit on the album was “Dear Mama”.
(2Pac (Left) and his mother Afeni Shakur (Right))
Also in 1996 2Pac released “All Eyez On Me”. It was certified 9× Platinum. The songs “California Love” (Featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman) and “How Do U Want It” reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
(2Pac (Right) and Dr. Dre (Left))
The album hit number 1 on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. 2Pac also released a diss track with his group the Outlawz called “Hit ‘Em Up” attacking rapper Notorious B.I.G.
(The Outlawz)
Also in 1996 2Pac released “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory” under the name “Makaveli”. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and the Billboard 200.
(2Pac in 1996)
On September 13th, 1996 while in a car with Suge Knight, 2Pac died of 4 bullet wounds during a drive by in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. He was 25 years old.
(2Pac’s funeral)
Today is his 46th birthday and we would all like to say happy birthday and rest in peace 2Pac.

Albums by 2Pac
  • “2Pacalypse Now” (1991)
  • “Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.” (1993)
  • “Me Against the World” (1995)
  • “All Eyez On Me” (1996)
  • “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory” (1996)

Films starring 2Pac
  • Nothing But Trouble (1991) as himself
  • Juice (1992) as Roland Bishop
  • Poetic Justice (1993) as Lucky
  • Above the Rim (1994) as Birdie
  • Murder Was the Case: The Movie (1995) as Sniper
  • Bullet (1996) as Tank

Videos of 2Pac

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Anniversary of Roger Troutman's Death

“So ruff, so tuff out here baby” - Roger Troutman
(Roger Troutman)
Roger Troutman was born on November 29th 1951 in Hamilton, Ohio, USA. He first started playing the guitar as a child.Troutman formed a band called The Human Body.
(Troutman on the cover of his 1st band’s 1st album)
In 1979 the group was signed to George Clinton’s record label and name was changed to Zapp. In 1980 Zapp signed to Warner Bros. records. Also in 1980 Zapp released their 1st album “Zapp”. The single “More Bounce to the Ounce” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Soul Singles chart.
(Zapp in 1980)
In 1981 Troutman released his 1st solo album “The Many Facets of Roger”. The single “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” reached No. 1 on the R&B Singles chart.
(Troutman in 1981)
In 1984 Troutman released his 2nd album “The Saga Continues”. Between 1980 and 1985 Zapp released the gold selling albums Zapp, Zapp II, Zapp III and The New Zapp IV U and multiple top ten R&B hit singles. In 1987 Troutman released his most successful solo album “Unlimited!”.
(Troutman in 1987 in his “I Want to be Your Man” music video)
By 1989 Zapp grew to 15 members. In 1989 Zapp released the album “Zapp Vibe” which performed poorly. In 1993 Troutman was featured on Snoop Dogg’s album “Doggystyle”. In 1995 Troutman collaborated with Eazy E on the album “Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton”. Also in 1995 Troutman collaborated with Dr. Dre and 2 Pac on the song “California Love”. The song became Troutman's biggest selling and most successful single to date as the song reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Troutman won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
(Troutman in 1995 in the “California Love” music video)
On April 25th, 1999 in Dayton, Ohio, USA Roger Troutman was shot and killed after an argument with his brother who then later committed suicide the same day. He was 47 years old.
(Roger and Lester Troutman’s grave)
Today is the 18th anniversary of his death. Take time to remember this great musical artist today.


Albums by Roger Troutman
  • "The Many Facets of Roger" (1981)
  • "The Saga Continues" (1984)
  • "Unlimited!" (1987)
  • "Bridging the Gap" (1991)
Videos of Roger Troutman

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Happy Birthday Dr. Dre

“I always loved the way music made me feel. I did sports at school and all, but when I got home, it was just music. Everybody in my neighborhood loved music. I could jump the back fence and be in the park where there were ghetto blasters everywhere” - Dr. Dre
(Dr. Dre)
Dr. Dre was born as Andre Romelle Young on February 18th, 1965 in Compton, California, USA. He became a DJ in a club called Eve After Dark, initially under the name "Dr. J", based on the nickname of Julius Erving, his favorite basketball player. At the club he met rapper Antoine Carraby, who later became member DJ Yella of N.W.A. Later Young took on the name of Dr. Dre. Dre and Yella recorded several demos in the club which they both worked at. They later joined the group World Class Wreckin’ Cru in 1984.
(Dr. Dre in 1984)
The group became successful among the electro hip hop scene that was very popular on the west coast. The record “Surgery” would become the group's first hit, selling 50,000 copies within the Compton area. Dr. Dre and DJ Yella performed for the local radio station KDAY. In 1986 Dre met rapper Ice Cube who collaborated with him to record songs for Ruthless Records. Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, Ice Cube, MC Ren and Eazy-E came together to make the group N.W.A.
(N.W.A.)
In 1987 they released their 1st album called “N.W.A. and the Posse”. In 1988 they released their 2nd album “Straight Outta Compton” which was very successful. The song “F**k tha Police” was the most controversial song on that album, so controversial that the FBI sent the group a letter telling them to stop making music.
Image result for dr dre 1988(Dr. Dre in 1988)
In 1989 Ice Cube left the group over financial disputes with their manager Jerry Heller. N.W.A. started a rap feud with Ice Cube by referencing him on their 3rd album “Efil4zaggin”. Dr. Dre produced albums for Eazy-E, Above the Law, Michel’le, The D.O.C., J.J. Fad, and Jimmy Z between the years of 1988 to 1991. In 1991 Dr. Dre left N.W.A. after disputes with Eazy-E and Jerry Heller. Dr. Dre and Suge Knight founded the record label “Death Row Records” in 1991.
(Dr. Dre in 1991)
In 1992 Dr. Dre recorded his first single “Deep Cover” for the movie Deep Cover with new upcoming rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. Also in 1992 Dr. Dre released his 1st solo album “The Chronic” which is considered the best rap album of all time.
Image result for dr dre 1992(Dr. Dre in 1992)
In 1993 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album triple platinum, and Dr. Dre also won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for his song "Let Me Ride". In 1993 Billboard magazine ranked Dr. Dre as the eighth best-selling musical artist, The Chronic as the sixth best-selling album, and "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" as the 11th best-selling single. Dr. Dre produced Snoop Doggy Dogg’s 1st album “Doggystyle” in 1993.
(Snoop Doggy Dogg (left) and Dr. Dre (right))
In 1994 Dre produced songs on the soundtracks of the movies Above the Rim and Murder Was the Case. In 1995 he rejoined with former member of N.W.A., Ice Cube, to record the song “Natural Born Killaz”. Dr. Dre recorded a song for Ice Cube’s movie Friday in 1995. Dr. Dre collaborated with 2 Pac and Roger to record the song “California Love” in 1995.
Image result for dr dre 1995(Dr. Dre in 1995)
In 1996 Dr. Dre left Death Row Records to form the record label “Aftermath Entertainment”. Also in 1996 Dr. Dre appeared on Blackstreet’s song “No Diggity”. In 1996 Dr. Dre appeared in the movie Set It Off. Dr. Dre produced songs for Nas, LL Cool J, and Jay Z in the late ‘90’s. In 1998 Dr. Dre signed rapper Eminem to Aftermath Entertainment and produced Eminem’s 1999 album “The Slim Shady LP”.
(Dr. Dre (left) and Eminem (right))
Dr. Dre’s 2nd solo album “The Chronic: 2001” was released in 1999. The album was highly successful, charting at number two on the Billboard 200 charts and has since been certified six times platinum. Dr. Dre won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2000. The Fatback Band sued Dr. Dre over alleged infringement regarding their song "Backstrokin'" in his song "Let's Get High" from the “The Chronic: 2001” album. Dr. Dre appeared in 2 movies in 2001, The Wash and Training Day.
Image result for dr dre in 2001(Dr. Dre in 2001)
Dr. Dre was ordered to pay $1.5 million to the band in 2003. In 2003 Dr. Dre produced 50 Cent’s album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”. In April 2005, Dr. Dre was ranked 54th out of 100 artists for Rolling Stone magazine's list "The Immortals: The Greatest Artists of All Time". In 2008 Dr. Dre released a brand of headphones called “Beats by Dre”.
(Dr. Dre in 2008)
Two genuine singles "Kush", a collaboration with Snoop Dogg and fellow rapper Akon, and "I Need a Doctor" with Eminem and singer Skylar Grey were released in the United States during November 2010 and February 2011. Both songs are from his unreleased album “Detox”. On November 14, 2011, Dre announced that he would be taking a break from music after he finished producing for artists Slim the Mobster and Kendrick Lamar.
(Kendrick Lamar (left) and Dr. Dre(right))
In 2014 Dr.Dre sold “Beats by Dre” to Apple Inc. for $3 billion, making him the 1st rap billionaire in history. In 2015 Dr. Dre released his album “Compton” for his biopic movie Straight Outta Compton. Dr. Dre produced the movie Straight Outta Compton about his group N.W.A.
(N.W.A. (top row) with the cast of Straight Outta Compton (bottom row))
In 2016 Dr. Dre toured with P. Diddy.
Image result for dr dre 2016(Dr. Dre in 2016)
Today he turns 52 years old and we would all like to say happy birthday Dr. Dre.

Albums by Dr. Dre
  • “The Chronic” (1992)
  • “The Chronic: 2001” (1999)
  • “Compton” (2015)
Movies featuring Dr. Dre
  • Set It Off (1996) as Black Sam
  • Whiteboyz (1999) as Don Flip Crew #1
  • Training Day (2001) as Paul
  • The Wash (2001) as Sean
Videos featuring Dr. Dre
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)