He was a founding member of the influential rap group N.W.A., which popularized the use of explicit lyrics in rap detailing the violence of street life (also known as Gangsta rap). He has also produced albums for and overseen the careers of some of the biggest stars in (mostly) rap music, including 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, G-Unit, The Game, Nate Dogg, Busta Rhymes, and Eve. With tens of millions of Records he has produced sold worldwide (including over 65 million with Eminem alone), he is widely regarded as one of the most popular and powerful figures in rap music of all time.
Musically, as a producer he is credited as a key figure in the creation and popularization of West Coast G-funk, a style of rap music characterized as synthesizer-based with slow, heavy beats. G-funk dominated the U.S. rap charts in the period of 1992-1996, and is still considered one of the major living styles of hip hop today. Dr. Dre is considered one of the greatest producers of all time.
Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac, Makaveli, or simply Pac, was an American rapper. In addition to his status as a top-selling recording artist, Shakur was a successful film actor and a prominent social activist. He is recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-selling rap artist, with over 75,000,000 albums sold worldwide, including over 50,000,000 in the United States alone. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up around violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society, and sometimes conflicts with other rappers. Shakur's work is known for advocating political, economic, social, and racial equality as well as his raw descriptions of violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and conflicts with the law. Many fans, critics, and industry insiders rank him as the greatest rapper ever.
Shakur was initially a roadie and backup dancer for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground. Shakur's debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, gained critical recognition and backlash for its controversial lyrics. Shakur became the target of lawsuits and experienced other legal problems. Later, he was shot five times and robbed in a recording studio lobby in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Following the occurrence, Shakur grew suspicious that other figures in the rap industry had prior knowledge of the incident and did not warn him; the controversy helped spark the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry. After serving eleven months of his sentence for sexual abuse, Shakur was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion "Suge" Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records. In exchange for Knight's assistance, Shakur agreed to release three records under the Death Row label. Shakur's fifthrecord, the first double-disc release in hip hop history All Eyez on Me, counted as two albums.
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation IPA: [ˈaɐ̯nɔltˈʔ aloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ]; born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, and politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of the U.S. state of California. As a Youngman, Schwarzenegger gained widespread attention as a highly successful bodybuilder. He later gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon.
Schwarzenegger was nicknamed "The Austrian Oak" and "The Styrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, "ArnoldStrong" and "Arnie" during his acting career, and more recently "The Governator" (a portmanteau of Governor and Terminator, referring to his internationally popular film role).
Schwarzenegger is married to Maria Shriver. He is a Republican, and was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger was sworn in on November 17, 2003, to serve the remainder of Davis' term. Schwarzenegger was then reelected on November 7, 2006, in California's 2006 gubernatorial election to serve a full term as governor by defeating Democrat Phil Angelides, who was California State Treasurer at the time. Schwarzenegger was sworn in for a second term on January 5, 2007. In May 2007, he was named as one of the Time 100 people who helpshapethe world.
Before becoming a part of the United States, AltaCalifornia was colonized by the Spanish Empire in 1769. After Mexican independence in 1821, Alta California remained as part of Mexico until 1846, when it was the independent California Republic for 25 days. Following the conclusion of the Mexican-Americanwar of 1848, California was annexed by the United States and was admitted to the Union as the thirty-first state on September 9, 1850.
California is the third largest state by area in the U.S.; its size gives it a diverse geography, which ranges from sandy and rockybeaches of the PacificCoast, to the rugged snow-capped SierraNevada mountains in the east, to desert areas in the southeast and the forests of the northwest. The center portion of the state is dominated by the Central Valley, one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world and the largest of any U.S. state. The Sierra Nevada mountains contain Yosemite Valley, Famous for its glacially-carved domes, and SequoiaNationalPark, home to the giantsequoia trees, the largest living organisms on Earth. The state is home to MountWhitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States, as well as the second lowest and hottest place in the western Hemisphere, DeathValley. Many of the trees located in the California White Mountains are the oldest in the world; one Bristleconepine has an age of 4,700 years.
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The CaliforniaGold Rush began in 1848, dramatically changing California to accommodate an influx of population and an economic boom. The early 20th century was marked by Los Angeles becoming The center of the entertainment industry, in addition to the growth of a large tourism sector in the state. Along with California's prosperous agricultural industry, other industries include aerospace, petroleum, and computer and information technology. California ranks among the ten largest economies in the world, and were it a separate country, it would be 34th amongst the most populous countries, just behind Poland, as well as the world's 6th largest economy.
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