name	The Times
type	Daily newspaper
format	Compact
price	UK£0.90 (Monday–Friday)£2 (Saturday) £1.30(Sat., Scotland)
foundation	1 January 1785
owners	News Corporation
sister newspapers	''The Sunday Times''
political	Moderate Conservative
headquarters	Wapping, London, UK
editor	James Harding
issn	0140-0460
website	www.thetimes.co.uk
circulation	502,436 March 2010 }}

''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper published in London since 1785, when it was known as ''The Daily Universal Register''.

''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' are published by Times Newspapers Limited, since 1981 a subsidiary of News International. News International is entirely owned by the News Corporation group, headed by Rupert Murdoch. Though traditionally a moderately centre-right newspaper and a supporter of the Conservatives, it supported the Labour Party in the 2001 and 2005 general elections. In 2004, according to MORI, the voting intentions of its readership were 40% for the Conservative Party, 29% for the Liberal Democrats, 26% for Labour.

''The Times'' is the original "Times" newspaper, lending its name to many other papers around the world, such as ''The New York Times'', ''The Los Angeles Times'', ''The Seattle Times'', ''The Daily Times (Malawi)'', Jimma Times (Ethiopia), ''The Times of India'', ''The Straits Times'', ''Polska The Times'' ''The Times of Malta'' and ''The Irish Times''. For distinguishing purposes it is therefore sometimes referred to, particularly in North America, as the 'London Times' or 'The Times of London'. The paper is also the originator of the ubiquitous Times Roman typeface, originally developed by Stanley Morison of ''The Times'' in collaboration with the Monotype Corporation for its legibility in low-tech printing.

The Times was printed in broadsheet format for 219 years, but switched to compact size in 2004 partly in an attempt to appeal to younger readers and partly to appeal to commuters using public transport. An American edition has been published since 6 June 2006.

Today

The newspaper's cover price in the United Kingdom is £1 on weekdays (30p for students at some university campus shops) and £1.50 on Saturday. ''The Times's'' sister paper, ''The Sunday Times'', is a broadsheet and priced at £2.20. Although ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' are both owned by News International, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp, they do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have shared the same owner only since 1967. In November 2006 ''The Times'' began printing headlines in its new font, Times Modern.

History

''The Times'' was founded by publisher John Walter on 1 January 1785 as ''The Daily Universal Register'', with Walter in the role of editor. Walter changed the title after 940 editions on 1 January 1788 to ''The Times''. In 1803, John Walter handed ownership and editorship to his son of the same name. John Walter Sr. had already spent sixteen months in Newgate prison for libel printed in ''The Times'', but his pioneering efforts to obtain Continental news, especially from France, helped build the paper's reputation among policy makers and financiers.

''The Times'' used contributions from significant figures in the fields of politics, science, literature, and the arts to build its reputation. For much of its early life, the profits of ''The Times'' were very large and the competition minimal, so it could pay far better than its rivals for information or writers.

In 1809, John Stoddart was appointed general editor, replaced in 1817 with Thomas Barnes. Under Barnes and his successor in 1841, John Thadeus Delane, the influence of ''The Times'' rose to great heights, especially in politics and amongst the City of London. Peter Fraser and Edward Sterling were two noted journalists, and gained for ''The Times'' the pompous/satirical nickname 'The Thunderer' (from "We thundered out the other day an article on social and political reform.").The increased circulation and influence of the paper was based in part to its early adoption of the steam driven rotary printing press. Distribution via steam trains to rapidly growing concentrations of urban populations helped ensure the profitability of the paper and its growing influence.

''The Times'' was the first newspaper to send war correspondents to cover particular conflicts. W. H. Russell, the paper's correspondent with the army in the Crimean War, was immensely influential with his dispatches back to England. In other events of the nineteenth century, ''The Times'' opposed the repeal of the Corn Laws until the number of demonstrations convinced the editorial board otherwise, and only reluctantly supported aid to victims of the Irish Potato Famine. It enthusiastically supported the Great Reform Bill of 1832 which reduced corruption and increased the electorate from 400 000 people to 800 000 people (still a small minority of the population). During the American Civil War, ''The Times'' represented the view of the wealthy classes, favouring the secessionists, but it was not a supporter of slavery.

The third John Walter (the founder's grandson) succeeded his father in 1847. The paper continued as more or less independent. From the 1850s, however, ''The Times'' was beginning to suffer from the rise in competition from the penny press, notably ''The Daily Telegraph'' and ''The Morning Post''.

During the 19th century, it was not infrequent for the Foreign Office to approach ''The Times'' and ask for continental intelligence, which was often superior to that conveyed by official sources.

''The Times'' faced financial extinction in 1890 under Arthur Fraser Walter, but it was rescued by an energetic editor, Charles Frederic Moberly Bell. During his tenure (1890–1911), ''The Times'' became associated with selling the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' using aggressive American marketing methods introduced by Horace Everett Hooper and his advertising executive, Henry Haxton. However, due to legal fights between the ''Britannica's'' two owners, Hooper and Walter Montgomery Jackson, ''The Times'' severed its connection in 1908 and was bought by pioneering newspaper magnate, Alfred Harmsworth, later Lord Northcliffe.

In editorials published on 29 and 31 July 1914 Wickham Steed, the ''Times'''s Chief Editor argued that the British Empire should enter World War I. On 8 May 1920, under the editorship of Wickham Steed, the ''Times'' in an editorial endorsed the anti-Semitic forgery ''The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion'' as a genuine document, and called Jews the world's greatest danger. In the leader entitled "The Jewish Peril, a Disturbing Pamphlet: Call for Inquiry", Steed wrote about ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'':

What are these 'Protocols'? Are they authentic? If so, what malevolent assembly concocted these plans and gloated over their exposition? Are they forgery? If so, whence comes the uncanny note of prophecy, prophecy in part fulfilled, in part so far gone in the way of fulfillment?".

The following year, when Philip Graves, the Constantinople (modern Istanbul) correspondent of the ''Times'', exposed ''The Protocols'' as a forgery, the ''Times'' retracted the editorial of the previous year.

In 1922, John Jacob Astor, a son of the 1st Viscount Astor, bought ''The Times'' from the Northcliffe estate. The paper gained a measure of notoriety in the 1930s with its advocacy of German appeasement; then-editor Geoffrey Dawson was closely allied with those in the government who practised appeasement, most notably Neville Chamberlain.

Kim Philby, a Soviet double agent, served as a correspondent for the newspaper in Spain during the Spanish Civil War of the late 1930s. Philby was admired for his courage in obtaining high-quality reporting from the front lines of the bloody conflict. He later joined MI6 during World War II, was promoted into senior positions after the war ended, then eventually defected to the Soviet Union in 1963.

Between 1941 and 1946, the left-wing British historian E.H. Carr was Assistant Editor. Carr was well known for the strongly pro-Soviet tone of his editorials. In December 1944, when fighting broke out in Athens between the Greek Communist ELAS and the British Army, Carr in a ''Times'' editorial sided with the Communists, leading Winston Churchill to condemn him and that leader in a speech to the House of Commons. As a result of Carr's editorial, the ''Times'' became popularly known during World War II as the threepenny ''Daily Worker'' (the price of the ''Daily Worker'' was one penny)

In 1967, members of the Astor family sold the paper to Canadian publishing magnate Roy Thomson, and on 3 May 1966 it started printing news on the front page for the first time. (Previously, the paper's front page featured small advertisements, usually of interest to the moneyed classes in British society.) The Thomson Corporation merged it with ''The Sunday Times'' to form Times Newspapers Limited.

An industrial dispute prompted the management to shut the paper for nearly a year (1 December 1978 – 12 November 1979).

The Thomson Corporation management were struggling to run the business due to the 1979 Energy Crisis and union demands. Management were left with no choice but to save both titles by finding a buyer who was in a position to guarantee the survival of both titles, and also one who had the resources and was committed to funding the introduction of modern printing methods.

Several suitors appeared, including Robert Maxwell, Tiny Rowland and Lord Rothermere; however, only one buyer was in a position to meet the full Thomson remit. That buyer was the Australian media magnate Rupert Murdoch.

Rupert Murdoch

In 1981, ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' were bought from Thomson by Rupert Murdoch's News International. The acquisition followed three weeks of intensive bargaining with the unions by company negotiators, John Collier and Bill O'Neill.

Murdoch soon began making his mark on the paper, replacing its editor, William Rees-Mogg, with Harold Evans in 1981. One of his most important changes was the introduction of new technology and efficiency measures. In March–May 1982, following agreement with print unions, the hot-metal Linotype printing process used to print ''The Times'' since the 19th century was phased out and replaced by computer input and photo-composition. This allowed print room staff at ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' to be reduced by half. However, direct input of text by journalists ("single stroke" input) was still not achieved, and this was to remain an interim measure until the Wapping dispute of 1986, when ''The Times'' moved from New Printing House Square in Gray's Inn Road (near Fleet Street) to new offices in Wapping.

In June 1990, ''The Times'' ceased its policy of using courtesy titles ("Mr", "Mrs", or "Miss" prefixes for living persons) before full names on first reference, but it continues to use them before surnames on subsequent references. The more formal style is now confined to the "Court and Social" page, though "Ms" is now acceptable in that section, as well as before surnames in news sections.

In November 2003, News International began producing the newspaper in both broadsheet and tabloid sizes. On 13 September 2004, the weekday broadsheet was withdrawn from sale in Northern Ireland. Since 1 November 2004, the paper has been printed solely in tabloid format.

The Conservative Party announced plans to launch litigation against ''The Times'' over an incident in which the newspaper claimed that Conservative election strategist Lynton Crosby had admitted that his party would not win the 2005 General Election. ''The Times'' later published a clarification, and the litigation was dropped.

On 6 June 2005, ''The Times'' redesigned its Letters page, dropping the practice of printing correspondents' full postal addresses. Published letters were long regarded as one of the paper's key constituents. Author/solicitor David Green of Castle Morris Pembrokeshire has had more letters published on the main letters page than any known contributor – 158 by 31 January 2008. According to its leading article, "From Our Own Correspondents", removal of full postal addresses was in order to fit more letters onto the page.

In a 2007 meeting with the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications, which was investigating media ownership and the news, Murdoch stated that the law and the independent board prevented him from exercising editorial control.

In May 2008 printing of ''The Times'' switched from Wapping to new plants at Broxbourne on the outskirts of London, and Merseyside and Glasgow, enabling the paper to be produced with full colour on every page for the first time.

Controversy and image

Long considered the UK's newspaper of record, ''The Times'' is generally seen as a serious publication with high standards of journalism. It is not without trenchant critics: Robert Fisk, seven times British International Journalist of the Year, resigned as foreign correspondent in 1988 over what he saw as "political censorship" of his article on the shooting-down of Iran Air Flight 655 in July 1988. He wrote in detail about his reasons for resigning from the paper due to meddling with his stories, and the papers' pro-Israel stance.

Some allege that ''The Times''' partisan opinion pieces also damage its status as 'paper of record,' particularly when attacking interests that go against those of its parent company – News International. In 2010 it published an opinion piece attacking the BBC for being 'one of a group of' signatories to a letter criticising BSkyB share options in October 2010.

Readership profile and image

The British Business Survey 2005 named ''The Times'' as the UK's leading daily newspaper for business people. This independent survey was sponsored by ''The Financial Times'', ''The Guardian'', ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''The Economist'', and ''The Times''.

The latest figures from the national readership survey show ''The Times'' to have the highest number of ABC1 25–44 readers and the largest numbers of readers in London of any of the "quality" papers. The certified average circulation figures for November 2005 show that The Times sold 692,581 copies per day. This was the highest achieved under the last editor, Robert Thomson, and ensured that the newspaper remained ahead of ''The Daily Telegraph'' in terms of full-rate sales, although the ''Telegraph'' remains the market leader for broadsheets, with a circulation of 905,955 copies. Tabloid newspapers, such as ''The Sun'' and middle-market newspapers such as the ''Daily Mail'', at present outsell both papers with a circulation of around 3,005,308 and 2,082,352 respectively. By March 2010 the paper's circulation had fallen to 502,436 copies daily and the ''Telegraph's'' to 686,679, according to ABC figures.

Format and supplements

''The Times'' features news for the first half of the paper with the leading articles on the second page, the Opinion/Comment section begins after the first news section, the world news normally follows this. The business pages begin on the centre spread, and are followed by The Register, containing obituaries, Court & Social section, and related material. The sport section is at the end of the main paper.

''Literary Supplement''

''The Times Literary Supplement'' (TLS) is a separately-paid-for weekly literature and society magazine.

''Science Reviews''

Between 1951 and 1966 ''The Times'' published a separately-paid-for quarterly science review, ''The Times Science Review''. Remarkably, in 1953 both the newspaper and its science supplement failed to report on the discovery of the structure of DNA in Cambridge, which was reported on by both the ''News Chronicle'' and ''The New York Times''.

''The Times'' started another new (but free) monthly science magazine, ''Eureka'', in October 2009.

''Times2''

''The Times'''s main supplement was the ''times2'', featuring various lifestyle columns. It was discontinued on 1 March 2010, most of its regular features being absorbed into the main paper, the puzzles into a new supplement called ''Mind Games''. Its previous incarnation began on 5 September 2005, before which it was called ''T2'' and previously ''Times 2''. Regular features included columns by a different columnist each weekday. There was a column by Marcus du Sautoy each Wednesday, for example. The back pages were devoted to puzzles and contain sudoku, "Killer Sudoku", "KenKen", word polygon puzzles, and a crossword simpler and more concise than the main "Times Crossword". The penultimate page was "Young Times", with puzzles and news for children. All these features are now found in ''Mind Games''.

The supplement also contained arts and lifestyle features, TV and radio listings and reviews which have now become their own weekly supplements.

''The Game''

''The Game'' is included in the newspaper on a Monday, and details all the weekend's football activity (Premier League and Football League Championship, League One and League Two.) The Scottish edition of ''The Game'' also includes results and analysis from Scottish Premier League games.

Saturday supplements

The Saturday edition of ''The Times'' contains a variety of supplements. These supplements were relaunched in January 2009 as: ''Sport'', ''Weekend'' (including travel and lifestyle features), ''Saturday Review'' (arts, books, and ideas), ''The Times Magazine'' (columns on various topics), and ''Playlist'' (an entertainment listings guide).

''Saturday Review'' is the first regular supplement published in broadsheet format again since the paper switched to a compact size in 2004.

At the beginning of Summer 2011 ''Saturday Review'' switched to the tabloid format

''The Times Magazine'' features columns touching on various subjects such as celebrities, fashion and beauty, food and drink, homes and gardens or simply writers' anecdotes. Notable contributors include Giles Coren, Food And Drink Writer of the Year in 2005.

Online presence

The ''Times'' and ''Sunday Times'' have had an online presence since March 1999, originally at ''the-times.co.uk'' and ''sunday-times.co.uk'', and later at ''timesonline.co.uk''. In April 2009, the ''timesonline'' site had a readership of 750,000 readers per day.

Paywall

Rupert Murdoch argued that readers should pay for online content, and since July 2010, News International requires readers that do not already subscribe to the print edition to pay £1 per day or £2 per week to access ''Times'' and ''Sunday Times'' content.

There are now two websites, instead of one: ''thetimes.co.uk'' is aimed at daily readers, and the ''thesundaytimes.co.uk'' site at providing weekly magazine-like content.

According to figures released in November 2010 by ''The Times'', 100,000 people had paid to use the service in its first four months of operation, and another 100,000 received free access because they subscribe to the printed paper. Visits to the websites have decreased by 87% since the paywall was introduced, from 21 million unique users per month to 2.7 million.

Typeface

''The Times'' commissioned the serif typeface ''Times New Roman'', created by Victor Lardent at the English branch of Monotype, in 1931. It was commissioned after Stanley Morison had written an article criticizing ''The Times'' for being badly printed and typographically antiquated. The font was supervised by Morison and drawn by Victor Lardent, an artist from the advertising department of ''The Times''. Morison used an older font named Plantin as the basis for his design, but made revisions for legibility and economy of space. ''Times New Roman'' made its debut in the 3 October 1932 issue of ''The Times'' newspaper. After one year, the design was released for commercial sale. ''The Times'' stayed with ''Times New Roman'' for 40 years, but new production techniques and the format change from broadsheet to tabloid in 2004 have caused the newspaper to switch font five times since 1972. However, all the new fonts have been variants of the original New Roman font:

''Times Europa'' was designed by Walter Tracy in 1972 for The Times, as a sturdier alternative to the Times font family, designed for the demands of faster printing presses and cheaper paper. The typeface features more open counter spaces.

''Times Roman'' replaced Times Europa on 30 August 1982. ''Times Millennium'' was made in 1991, drawn by Gunnlaugur Briem on the instructions of Aurobind Patel, composing manager of News International. ''Times Classic'' first appeared in 2001. Designed as an economical face by the British type team of Dave Farey and Richard Dawson, it took advantage of the new PC-based publishing system at the newspaper, while obviating the production shortcomings of its predecessor Times Millennium. The new typeface included 120 letters per font. Initially the family comprised ten fonts, but a condensed version was added in 2004. ''Times Modern'' was unveiled on 20 November 2006, as the successor of ''Times Classic''. Designed for improving legibility in smaller font sizes, it uses 45-degree angled bracket serifs. The font was published by Elsner + Flake as ''EF Times Modern''; it was designed by Research Studios, led by Ben Preston (deputy editor of The Times) and designer Neville Brody.

Sponsored events

''The Times'', along with the British Film Institute, sponsors the London Film Festival (or more specifically, The Times ''bfi'' London Film Festival). As of 2005, it is Europe's largest public event for motion pictures.

''The Times'' also sponsors the Cheltenham Literature Festival and the Asia House Festival of Asian Literature at Asia House, London.

Political allegiance

''The Times'' was a traditional Conservative Party supporter, even after its 18-year rule in government was ended by the Labour landslide of 1997, but for the 2001 general election the paper declared its support for Tony Blair's Labour government, which was re-elected by a landslide. It supported Labour again in 2005, when it achieved a third successive election win, though with a reduced majority. For the 2010 general election, however, the newspaper declared its support for the Tories once again; the election ended in the Tories taking the most votes and seats but having to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats in order to form a government as they had failed to gain an overall majority.

The Times had declared its support for Clement Attlee's Labour at the 1945 general election; the party went on to win the election by a landslide over Winston Churchill's Conservative government. However, the newspaper reverted to the Tories for the next election five years later. It would not switch sides again for more than 50 years.

Ownership

John Walter (1785–1803)

John Walter, 2nd (1803–1847)

John Walter, 3rd (1847–1894)

Arthur Fraser Walter (1894–1908)

Lord Northcliffe (1908–1922)

Astor family (1922–1966)

Roy Thomson (1966–1981)

News International (subsidiary of News Corporation), run by Rupert Murdoch (1981– )

Editorship

!Editor's name	!Years
	1785–1803
	1803–1812
John Stoddart	1812–1816
	1817–1841
John Delane	1841–1877
Thomas Chenery	1877–1884
George Earle Buckle	1884–1912
George Geoffrey Dawson	1912–1919
	1919–1922
George Geoffrey Dawson	1923–1941
Robert McGowan Barrington-Ward	1941–1948
William Francis Casey	1948–1952
William Haley	1952–1966
William Rees-Mogg	1967–1981
Harold Evans	1981–1982
	1982–1985
	1985–1990
Simon Jenkins	1990–1992
Peter Stothard	1992–2002
	2002–2007
	2007–

Columnists and journalists

Murad Ahmed

Michael Atherton

Guillem Balague

Simon Barnes

Alice Bowe

Peter Brookes, leader-page cartoonist

David Brown

Kaya Burgess

Rachel Campbell-Johnston

Sam Coates

Giles Coren

Robert Crampton

Ginny Dougary

Stephen Farrell

Daniel Finkelstein

Richard Ford

Adam Fresco

Joanna Geary

Frances Gibb

Brian Glanville

Ruth Gledhill

Michael Gove

Nico Hines

Anthony Howard

Philip Howard

Ben Hoyle

Mick Hume

Anatole Kaletsky

Patrick Kidd

Magnus Linklater

Richard Lloyd Parry

Anthony Loyd, war correspondent on retainer

Ben Macintyre

Sam Marlowe, theatre reviewer

Stefanie Marsh

Hugh McIlvanney

Alice Miles

Caitlin Moran

Michael Moran

Morten Morland, political cartoonist

Richard Morrison

Kate Muir

Matthew Parris

Grayson Perry

Catherine Philp

Libby Purves

Lord Rees-Mogg

Peter Riddell

Hugo Rifkind

Aki Riihilahti

Nick Robinson

Alyson Rudd

Dan Sabbagh

Sathnam Sanghera

Marcus du Sautoy

David Sinclair

Graham Stewart

Andrew Sullivan

Richard Susskind

Ann Treneman

Janice Turner

Philip Webster

Tom Whipple

Tom Whitwell

Tony Halpin

Alexander Williams, cartoonist

Jeremy Clarkson

Other publications

(Times Books Group Ltd)

The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World, 2007 ISBN 978-0-00-780150-3

Biography

Harold Evans, ''Good Times, Bad Times''. Includes sections of black-and-white photographic plates, plus a few charts and diagrams in text pages.

In fiction

In the dystopian future world of George Orwell's ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', ''The Times'' has been transformed into the organ of the totalitarian ruling party, its editorials—of which several are quoted in the book—reflecting Big Brother's pronouncements.

Rex Stout's fictional detective Nero Wolfe is described as fond of solving the London ''Times'' crossword puzzle at his New York home, in preference to those of American papers.

In the James Bond series, written by Ian Fleming, the title character, James Bond, reads ''The Times''. As described by Fleming in ''From Russia, with Love'': "The Times was the only paper that Bond ever read."

See also

List of newspapers by date

References

External links

The Sunday Times site

Times World Atlases official website including a History and Heritage section detailing landmark Times atlases

Archive from 1785 to 1985 – full text and original layout, searchable (not free of charge, registration required)

The Times editor Robert Thomson lecture online: From the editorial desk of ''The Times'', RMIT School of Applied Communication Public Lecture series

Anthony Trollope's satire on the mid-nineteenth century Times

Journalism Now: The Times Winchester University Journalism History project on the Times in the nineteenth century

Category:Newspapers published in the United Kingdom Category:News Corporation subsidiaries * Category:Publications established in 1785 Category:1785 establishments in Great Britain

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name	Kanye West
background	solo_singer
birth name	Kanye Omari West
birth date	June 08, 1977
birth place	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
genre	Hip hop
instrument	Vocals, keyboards, sampler, percussion, synthesizer
occupation	Producer, rapper, musician, singer, songwriter
years active	1996–present
label	GOOD Music, Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
associated acts	Go Getters, Child Rebel Soldier, Jay-Z, The Throne, Common, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, Jeff Bhasker, Pusha T, Mos Def, Mr Hudson, Talib Kweli, Big Sean, A-Trak, Pharrell, Lupe Fiasco, RZA
website	}}

Kanye Omari West (; born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album ''The Blueprint'', as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synthpop, and classical music.

West released his debut album ''The College Dropout'' in 2004, his second album ''Late Registration'' in 2005, his third album ''Graduation'' in 2007, his fourth album ''808s & Heartbreak'' in 2008, and his fifth album ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' in 2010. West released a collaborative album, ''Watch the Throne'', with Jay-Z on August 8, 2011, which is the duo's first collaborative album. His five solo albums, all of which have gone platinum, have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. As of 2012, West has won a total of eighteen Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all time. All albums have been very commercially successful, with ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' becoming his fourth consecutive No.1 album in the U.S. upon release. West has had 5 songs exceed 3 million in digital sales as of July 2011, with "Gold Digger" selling 3,086,000, "Stronger" selling 4,402,000, "Heartless" selling 3,742,000, "E.T." selling over 4,000,000 and "Love Lockdown" selling over 3,000,000 placing him third in overall digital sales of the past decade. He has sold over 30 million digital songs in the United States making him one of the best selling digital artists of all time.

West also runs his own record label GOOD Music, home to artists such as John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi. West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of three of his five albums as well as various single covers and music videos. About.com ranked Kanye West No.8 on their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list. On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's No.1 "Hottest MC in the Game." On December 17, 2010, Kanye West was voted as the MTV Man of the Year by MTV. Billboard ranked Kanye West No. 3 on their list of Top 10 Producers of the decade. West has also been included in the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as being listed in a number of ''Forbes''' annual lists.

Early life

Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lived with his parents. When he was three years old, his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father was Ray West, a former Black Panther who was one of the first black photojournalists at ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,'' and is now a Christian counselor. West's mother, Dr. Donda West, was a Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as West's manager. He was raised in a middle-class background, attending Polaris High School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago. When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, "I got A's and B's. And I'm not even frontin'".

West attended art classes at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and also enrolled at Chicago State University, but dropped out to focus on his music career. While attending school, West produced for local artists. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for major hip hop/R&B artists, including Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Cam'ron, Paul Wall, Common, Mobb Deep, Jermaine Dupri, Scarface, The Game, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, John Legend among others. He also "ghost-produced" for his mentor Deric Angelettie, according to his song "Last Call" and the credits of Nas' "Poppa Was a Playa".

Music career

1996–2003: Career beginnings

Kanye West's first career productions came on Chicago rapper Grav's 1996 debut album ''Down to Earth''. West produced eight tracks on the album. While the album did not attract much attention and would be the only album released by Grav, West would soon be producing for higher profile artists. In 1998–1999 he produced for well-known artists such as Jermaine Dupri, Foxy Brown, Goodie Mob, and the group Harlem World.

West got his big break in the year 2000, when he began to produce for artists on Roc-a-Fella Records. He produced the well-received Jay-Z song "This Can't Be Life" off of the album ''The Dynasty: Roc La Familia''. West would later state that to create the beat for "This Can't Be Life", he sped up the drum beat from Dr. Dre's song "Xxplosive".

After producing for Jay-Z earlier, West’s sound was featured heavily on Jay-Z's critically acclaimed album ''The Blueprint,'' released September 11, 2001. His work was featured on the lead single "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" and a diss track against Nas and Mobb Deep named "Takeover"; West has worked with Mobb Deep and Nas since the track's release.

After meeting great commercial success and critical acclaim for his productions on ''The Blueprint'', West became a sought after producer in the hip-hop industry, even before he became known as a rapper and solo artist. In the years 2002–2003 he would produce for artists such as Nas, Scarface, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, T.I., Ludacris, DMX, and Monica. He also continued producing for Roc-a-Fella Records artists and contribued four tracks to Jay-Z's follow up album to ''The Blueprint'', ''The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse''.

After great successes as a producer, West now looked to pursue a career as a rapper and solo artist, but struggled to get a record deal. Chris Anokute, then A&R at Def Jam, said that when West regularly dropped by the office to pick up his producer checks he would play demos of solo material to Anokute in his cubicle and bemoan the fact that no one was taking him seriously as a rapper. Jay-Z admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that he saw him as a producer first and foremost. Multiple record companies felt he was not as marketable as rappers who portray the "street image" prominent in hip hop culture. Beginning his career as a rapper, Kanye West recorded the third verse on the song "The Bounce" off of Jay-Z's ''The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse'', an album he produced for, from the same label he was signed to as a rapper.

2004–05: ''The College Dropout'' and ''Late Registration''

On October 23, 2002, West was involved in a near fatal car crash while driving home from the recording studio. The crash provided inspiration for West's first single, "Through the Wire". West's faith is apparent in many of his songs, such as "Jesus Walks", which became a staple at his benefit performances, such as the Live 8 concert. These songs were featured on West's debut album, ''The College Dropout'', which was released on Roc-A-Fella Records in February 2004, and went on to receive critical acclaim. The album also defined the style for which West would become known, including wordplay and sampling. The album was eventually certified triple platinum. Guest appearances included Jay-Z, Ludacris, GLC, Consequence, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Common, and Syleena Johnson. The album also featured the singles, "All Falls Down" and "The New Workout Plan", as well as Twista's number one single, "Slow Jamz". During 2003 West also co-produced songs for British singer Javine Hylton, even appearing in the music video to Real Things playing the love interest of Javine.

West was involved in a financial dispute over Royce Da 5'9"'s song "Heartbeat", produced by West and released on ''Build & Destroy: The Lost Sessions''. West maintains that Royce never paid for the beat, but recorded to it and released it; hearing him on the beat, the original customers decided not to buy it from West. After the disagreement, West vowed to never work with Royce again. Other Kanye West-produced hit singles during the period ''The College Dropout'' was released included "I Changed My Mind" by Keyshia Cole, "Overnight Celebrity" by Twista and "Talk About Our Love" by Brandy.

Taking a more eclectic route, West collaborated with American film score composer Jon Brion to construct his second album, ''Late Registration'', which was released on August 30, 2005. Like its predecessor, the sophomore effort garnered universal acclaim from music critics. ''Late Registration'' topped countless critic polls and was revered as the best album of the year by numerous publications, including ''USA Today'', ''Spin'', and ''Time''. ''Rolling Stone'' awarded the album the highest position on their end of the year record list and hailed it as a "sweepingly generous, absurdly virtuosic hip-hop classic." The record earned the number one spot on the ''Village Voice'''s Pazz & Jop critics' poll of 2005 for the second consecutive year. ''Late Registration'' was also a commercial success, selling over 860,000 copies in its first week alone and topping the ''Billboard 200''. Grossing over 2.3 million units sold in the United States alone by year's end, ''Late Registration'' was considered by industry observers as the sole majorly successful album release of the fall of 2005, a season that was plagued by steadily declining CD sales. The second album earned eight Grammy Award nominations including ''Album of the Year'' and ''Record of the Year'' for the song "Gold Digger". The album is certified triple platinum.

On August 22, 2005, the MTV special ''All Eyes On Kanye West'' aired, in which West spoke out against homophobia in hip-hop. He claimed that hip-hop has always been about "speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people." He then reflected on a personal experience. He said that he had a "turning point" when he realized one of his cousins was gay. He said regarding this experience: "This is my cousin. I love him and I've been discriminating against gays." He drew comparison between African Americans' struggle for civil rights and today's gay rights movement. The following year, in an interview with ''Entertainment Weekly'', West further expounded his experiences with and views on the relationship between the black and gay communities.

In September 2005, West announced that he would release his Pastelle Clothing line in spring 2006: "Now that I have a Grammy under my belt and ''Late Registration'' is finished, I am ready to launch my clothing line next spring." In that year, West produced the hit singles "Go" by Common and "Dreams" by The Game.

2007–09: ''Graduation'' and ''808s & Heartbreak''

In 2007, it was announced that West would be starring in a series directed by Larry Charles. He has been working on the pilot episode for the past two years with Larry Charles and Rick Rubin. He also had this to say on January 14: "I wouldn't do something as cliché as a reality show. At least give me the credit for being more creative than that. It's a situational half-hour comedy. It's fictional, and loosely based on my life. " West also collaborated with Japanese hip-hop group Teriyaki Boyz to produce the single "I Still Love H.E.R.," a reference to Common's 1994 single "I Used to Love H.E.R.". Further to this, during a radio appearance in early 2007, West, like many of his peers, recorded an impromptu freestyle to the popular song "Throw Some D's." The song that to all other rappers was about automobile rims, was used by West to comically refer to D-cup breasts. Because of the unexpected success of the song, West went on to make a video for the freestyle, in which he is seen playing his 'Old Ass Cousin'.

West was also featured in a new song called "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)". It was believed to be a single for, ''Graduation'', because he is featured on the track, but Nike quickly explained that it was for the Nike Air Force 1's anniversary. It was meant only to be an exclusive track for the company.

On March 25, 2007, he and his father Ray West supported World Water Day by having a "Walk for Water" rally. After a two-year break, West has returned to being a fashion columnist in lifestyle magazine ''Complex''. On July 7, 2007, West performed with The Police and John Mayer at the American leg of Live Earth. West hosted the August 17 edition of British comedy- variety show The Friday Night Project.

In July 2007, West changed the release date of ''Graduation'', his third album, from September 18, 2007, to the same release date as 50 Cent's album ''Curtis'', September 11, 2007. 50 Cent later claimed that if ''Graduation'' were to sell more records than ''Curtis,'' he would stop releasing solo albums. However, 50 Cent would later dispel his comments. The album has been certified double platinum. Guest appearances included T-Pain, Mos Def, and Lil Wayne.

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On August 26, 2007, West appeared as himself on the HBO television show ''Entourage'' which he used as a platform to premier his new single "Good Life" during the end credits. On September 9, 2007, West performed at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, losing in every category he was nominated for; he gave an angry speech immediately afterward. (see "Controversies" section)

Following the MTV stint, West was nominated in eight Grammy Award categories for the 50th annual Grammy Awards. He won four of them, including Best Rap Album for ''Graduation'' and Best Rap Solo Performance for "Stronger" from ''Graduation''. During the four-hour televised Grammy Awards ceremony, West also performed two songs: "Stronger" (with Daft Punk) and "Hey Mama" (in honor of his recently deceased mother).

West kicked off the Glow in the Dark Tour in Seattle at the Key Arena on April 16. The tour was originally scheduled to end in June in Cincinnati but was extended into August. Over the course of the tour West was joined by a varying group of opening acts, including Lupe Fiasco, Rihanna, N.E.R.D., DJ Craze, and Gnarls Barkley. On June 15, West was scheduled to perform a late night set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. His performance started almost two hours late and ran for half of its alloted time, angering many fans in the audience. West later wrote an outraged entry on his blog, blaming the festival organizers as well as Pearl Jam's preceding set, which ran longer than expected.

On September 7, West debuted a new song "Love Lockdown" at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. "Love Lockdown" features no rapping and only singing using an auto-tune device. This song appears on West's fourth studio album, ''808s & Heartbreak''. The new album was expected to be released on December 16, but West announced on his blog on September 24, 2008, that he had finished the album and would be releasing it sometime in November, earlier than previously scheduled. In early October, West made a surprise appearance at a T.I. concert in Los Angeles, where he stated that ''808s & Heartbreak'' was scheduled to be released on November 25, though it was actually released on the 24th, and that the second single is "Heartless". The album was another number one album for West, even though the first week numbers fell well short of ''Graduation'' with 450,145 sold.

West performed at the American Music Awards ceremony on November 23. That same night he won two AMA awards, including Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album for ''Graduation'' and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Male Artist. West performed at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August 2008, along with Wyclef Jean and N.E.R.D. in support of Barack Obama. On January 20, 2009, Kanye West performed at the Youth Inaugural Ball hosted by MTV for Obama's inauguration.

On February 17, 2009, West was named one of Top 10 Most Stylish Men in America by ''GQ''. The next day, February 18, 2009, West won International Male Solo Artist at The Brit Awards 2009. West was not in attendance but accepted his award with a video speech, saying "Barack is the 'Best Interracial Male' but I'm proud to be the Best International Male in the world.

In April 2009, Kanye West recorded a song called "Hurricane" with 30 Seconds to Mars to appear on their album ''This Is War'', but was not released due to legal issues with both record companies. The song was eventually released on the deluxe version of ''This Is War'', titled "Hurricane 2.0".

2010–present: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' and ''Watch the Throne''

In May 2010, West made an animated television guest appearance on Fox's animated television series ''The Cleveland Show'' (a spin-off of ''Family Guy'') as the voice behind "Kenny West", a rival of Cleveland Brown's son. In his first episode he performed in a rap battle with Cleveland's son. The producers stated working with West was a very good experience and a reason they chose him was because they knew he was a fan of ''Family Guy''. Kenny West re-appeared in the season 2 premiere of ''The Cleveland Show''.

West spent the first half of 2010 in Honolulu, Hawaii, working on his new album with the working title ''"Good Ass Job"'', later named ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'', released on November 22, 2010. West has cited Maya Angelou, Gil Scott-Heron and Nina Simone as his musical inspirations for this album. Outside production is said to come from RZA, Q-Tip, Pete Rock, and DJ Premier. West also had Justin Vernon flown into his studio on Oahu after seemingly expressing interest in sampling one of Bon Iver's songs; Vernon proceeded to feature on a number of new tracks, including "Lost In The World," which features Vernon's vocal line from Woods.

On May 28, the Dwele-assisted first single from the album, entitled "Power", leaked to the Internet. On June 30, the track was officially released via iTunes. The upcoming music video was quoted as being "apocalyptic, in a very personal way" by the director Marco Brambilla.

On September 12, 2010, West performed a new song, "Runaway" featuring Pusha T, at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Shortly after the performance, Kanye revealed he was working on a 35 minute short film based around the song. The movie is said to be influenced by film noir and concerns a fallen phoenix whom Kanye falls in love with. On October 15, 2010, Kanye West was ranked 3rd in BET's "Top Ten Rappers of the 21st Century" list.

''Watch the Throne'', a collaborative studio album by West and Jay-Z, was released by Def Jam Recordings on August 8, 2011. It has been under production since August 2010 as part of West's GOOD Friday initiative of releasing new songs every Friday between August 20 and Christmas 2010. West said through a recent interview with MTV that the album is "going to be very dark and sexy, like couture hip hop." He appeared at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, performing the track "Lost in the World" from ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''. On January 6, 2011, Kanye announced via Twitter that the first official single from ''Watch the Throne'' would be a song called "H•A•M" produced by Lex Luger. The song was released on January 11, 2011.

On April 17, 2011, West closed the Coachella Festival with a headlining set that received glowing praise from fans and critics alike. On July 20, a track titled "Otis" from the album was released in the iTunes Store. It samples "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding. On October 19, 2011, West announced on his Twitter plans for a Spring 2012 GOOD Music album release. On April 6, 2012, "Mercy", the lead single from the ''GOOD Music'' compilation album was released. The song, produced by newly-signed in-house producer Lifted, features West along with Big Sean, Pusha T and southern rapper 2 Chainz.

Other ventures

Business ventures

In August 2008, West revealed plans to open 10 Fatburger restaurants in the Chicago area; the first was set to open in September 2008 in Orland Park. The second followed in January 2009, while a third location is yet to be revealed, although the process is being finalized. His company, KW Foods LLC, bought the rights to the chain in Chicago. Additionally, West planned to launch his fashion career, and applied for internships with major European fashion houses. He was due to release his own clothing line called Past Tell in 2009. He also collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe, Air Yeezys.

On January 22, 2009, during Paris Fashion Week, West introduced his first shoe line designed for Louis Vuitton. The line was released in summer 2009.

On October 01, 2011, Kanye West premiered his women's fashion label, DW Kanye West at Paris Fashion Week. He received support from DSquared2 duo Dean and Dan Caten, Olivier Theyskens, Jeremy Scott, Azzedine Alaïa, and the Olsen twins, who were also in attendance during his show. His debut fashion show received mixed-to-negative reviews, ranging from reserved observations by Style.com to excoriating commentary by The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, Elleuk.com, The Daily Telegraph, Harper's Bazaar and many others.

Philanthropy

West started the "Kanye West Foundation" in Chicago in 2003. On August 24, 2007, West hosted the inaugural benefit concert to launch the foundation's partnership with Strong American Schools. It is focused on helping Latino and African American children stay in school and to get a proper education through grade school, high school, and college. The foundation also helps children to stay in high school by finding a path through music. West has contributed over $500,000 to his foundation. The foundation has also been called the "Donda West Foundation".

Kanye West has appeared and participated in many fundraisers, benefit concerts, and has done community work for Hurricane Katrina relief, the Kanye West Foundation, the Millions More Movement, 100 Black Men of America, a Live Earth concert benefit, World Water Day rally and march, Nike runs, and a MTV special helping young Iraq War veterans who struggle through debt and PTSD a second chance after returning home.

Musical style and influences

At the start of his career, Kanye West's production style often used pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. His first major release featuring his trademark vocal sampling style was "This Can't Be Life", a track from Jay-Z’s ''The Dynasty: Roc La Familia''. West said he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" to use as a replacement for his drums on "This Can't Be Life".

West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style, and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites, "Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time... We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that." RZA himself has spoken quite positively of the comparisons, stating in an interview for ''Rolling Stone'', "All good. I got super respect for Kanye. He came up to me about a year or two ago. He gave me mad praising and blessings... For people to say Wu-Tang inspire Kanye, Kanye is one of the biggest artists in the world. That goes back to what we say: 'Wu-Tang is forever.' Kanye is going to inspire people to be like him." After hearing his work on ''The Blueprint'', RZA claimed that a torch-passing had occurred between him and West, saying, "The shoes gotta be filled. If you ain't gonna do it, somebody else is gonna do it. That's how I feel about rap today."

While his use of sampling has lessened over time, West's production continues to feature distinctive and intricate string arrangements. This characteristic arose from him listening to the English trip hop group Portishead, whose 1998 live album ''Roseland NYC Live'', with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra inspired him to incorporate string sections into his hip hop production. Though he was unable to afford live instruments beyond violin riffs provided by Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari around the time of his debut album, its subsequent commercial success allowed him to hire his very own eleven-piece string orchestra. For a time, West stood as the sole current pop star to tour with a string section.

West has stated on several occasions that outside of work, he favors listening to rock music over hip-hop. He cites Franz Ferdinand, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Killers as some of his favorite musical groups. Additionally, on ''Graduation'', West drew inspiration from arena rock bands such as U2, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin for melody and chord progression. Both a fan and supporter of indie culture, West uses his official website to promote obscure indie rock bands, posting up music videos and mp3s on a daily basis. This musical affinity is mutual, as West has collaborated with indie artists such as Santigold, Peter Bjorn and John, and Lykke Li while his songs have gone on to be covered countless times by myriad rock bands.

Personal life

Relationships

Kanye West and designer Alexis Phifer ended their 18-month engagement in 2008. The couple had been dating on and off since 2002, with West eventually proposing in August 2006. According to a friend, the couple's relationship had become increasingly strained, burdened by the sheer amount of time and attention West was dedicating to his current concert tour. "It's always sad when things like this end, and we remain friends," Phifer told ''People''.

West was also in a high profile on/off relationship with Amber Rose from 2008 until the summer of 2010. He is now reportedly dating reality star Kim Kardashian.

Mother's death

On November 10, 2007, West's mother, Donda West, died of complications from cosmetic surgery involving abdominoplasty and breast reduction. TMZ reported that Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Andre Aboolian refused to do the surgery because Donda West had a health condition that placed her at risk for a heart attack. Aboolian referred her to an internist to investigate her cardiac issue. Donda never met with the doctor recommended by Aboolian and had the procedures performed by a third doctor, Jan Adams. She was 58 years old (1949–2007).

Adams sent condolences to Donda West's family but declined to publicly discuss the procedure because of confidentiality. He had previously been under scrutiny by the medical board. Adams appeared on ''Larry King Live'' on November 20, 2007 but left before speaking. Two days later, he appeared again, with his attorney, stating he was there to "defend himself." He said that the recently released autopsy results "spoke for themselves". The final coroner's report January 10, 2008 concluded that Donda West died of "coronary artery disease and multiple post-operative factors due to or as a consequence of liposuction and mammoplasty."

The funeral and burial for Donda West was held in Oklahoma City on November 20, 2007. West held his first concert following the funeral at The O2 in London on November 22. He dedicated a performance of "Hey Mama", as well as a cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", to his mother, and did so on all other dates of his Glow in the Dark tour.

At a December 2008 press conference in New Zealand, West spoke about his mother's death for the first time. "It was like losing an arm and a leg and trying to walk through that," he told reporters.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger passed the "Donda West Law," a legislation which makes it mandatory for patients to provide medical clearance for elective cosmetic surgery.

Legal issues

In December 2006, Robert "Evel" Knievel sued West for trademark infringement in West's video for "Touch the Sky." Knievel took issue with a "sexually-charged video" in which West takes on the persona of "Evel Kanyevel" and attempts flying a rocket over a canyon. The suit filed in federal court claims infringement on his trademarked name and likeness. Knievel also claims the "vulgar and offensive" images depicted in the video damage his reputation. The suit seeks damages and to stop distribution of the video. West's attorneys argued that the music video amounted to satire and therefore was covered under the First Amendment. Just days before his death in November 2007, Knievel amicably settled the suit after being paid a visit from West, saying, "I thought he was a wonderful guy and quite a gentleman."

On September 11, 2008, West and his road manager/bodyguard Don "Don C." Crowley were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport and booked on charges of felony vandalism after an altercation with the paparazzi in which West and Crowley broke the photographers' cameras. West was later released from the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division station in Culver City on $20,000 bail bond. On September 26, 2008 the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said it would not file felony counts against West over the incident. Instead the case file was forwarded to the city attorney's office, which charged West with one count of misdemeanor vandalism, one count of grand theft and one count of battery and his manager with three counts of each on March 18, 2009. West's and Crowley's arraignment was delayed from an original date of April 14, 2009.

West was arrested again on November 14, 2008 at the Hilton hotel near Gateshead after another scuffle involving a photographer outside the famous Tup Tup Palace nightclub in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He was later released "with no further action", according to a police spokesperson.

Controversies

General media

West has had several controversies throughout his career. On September 2, 2005, during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief on NBC, A Concert for Hurricane Relief, West was a featured speaker. When West was presenting alongside actor Mike Myers, he deviated from the prepared script. Myers spoke next and continued to read the script. Once it was West's turn to speak again, he said "George Bush doesn't care about black people." At this point, telethon producer Rick Kaplan cut off the microphone and then cut away to Chris Tucker, who was unaware of the cut for a few seconds. Still, West's comment reached much of the United States. Bush stated in an interview that the comment was "one of the most disgusting moments” of his presidency.

In January 2006, West again sparked controversy when he appeared on the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' in the image of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.

In November, 2010, in a taped interview with Matt Lauer for the Today Show, West expressed regret for his criticism of Bush. "I would tell George Bush in my moment of frustration, I didn't have the grounds to call him a racist," he told Lauer. "I believe that in a situation of high emotion like that we as human beings don't always choose the right words." The following day, Bush reacted to the apology in a live interview with Lauer saying he appreciated the rapper's remorse. "I'm not a hater," Bush said. "I don't hate Kanye West. I was talking about an environment in which people were willing to say things that hurt. Nobody wants to be called a racist if in your heart you believe in equality of races."

Reactions were mixed, but some felt that West had no need to apologize. "It was not the particulars of your words that mattered, it was the essence of a feeling of the insensitivity towards our communities that many of us have felt for far too long," noted Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons. Dr. Boyce Watkins said that West was, "now part of the establishment, where waffling on your principles is fully expected. Bush deserved no apology, for you don’t apologize to a criminal after repudiating him for an egregious crime. " Bush himself was acceptive towards the apology, saying, "I appreciate that. It wasn't just Kanye West who was talking like that during Katrina, I cited him as an example, I cited others as an example as well. You know, I appreciate that."

Award shows

In 2004, West had his first of a number of incidents involving music award events. At the American Music Awards of 2004, West stormed out of the auditorium after losing Best New Artist to country singer Gretchen Wilson. He later commented, "I felt like I was definitely robbed [...] I was the best new artist this year." After the 2006 Grammy nominations were released, West said he would "really have a problem" if he did not win the Album of the Year, saying, "I don't care what I do, I don't care how much I stunt – you can never take away from the amount of work I put into it. I don't want to hear all of that politically correct stuff." On November 2, 2006, when his "Touch the Sky" failed to win Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards, West went onto the stage as the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for "We Are Your Friends" and argued that he should have won the award instead. Hundreds of news outlets worldwide criticized the outburst. On November 7, 2006, West apologized for this outburst publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their Vertigo concert in Brisbane. He later spoofed the incident in the season premiere of ''Saturday Night Live''.

On September 9, 2007, West suggested that his race had to do with his being overlooked for opening the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in favor of Britney Spears; he claimed, "Maybe my skin’s not right." West was performing at the event; that night, he lost all 5 awards that he was nominated for, including Best Male Artist and Video of the Year. After the show, he was visibly upset that he had lost at the VMAs two years in a row, stating that he would not come back to MTV ever again. He also appeared on several radio stations saying that when he made the song "Stronger" that it was his dream to open the VMAs with it. He has also stated that Spears has not had a hit in a long period of time and that MTV exploited her for ratings.

On September 13, 2009, during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards while Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me", West went on stage and grabbed the microphone to proclaim that Beyoncé's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", nominated for the same award, was "one of the best videos of all time". He was subsequently removed from the remainder of the show for his actions. When Beyoncé later won the award for Best Video of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", she called Swift up on stage so that she could finish her acceptance speech. West was criticized by various celebrities for the outburst, and by President Barack Obama, who called West a "jackass". In addition, West's VMA disruption sparked a large influx of Internet photo memes with blogs, forums and "tweets" with the "Let you finish" photo-jokes. Subsequently, West posted two apologies for the outburst on his personal blog; one on the night of the incident and the other the same day he appeared on ''The Jay Leno Show'', on September 14, 2009, where he apologized again. After Swift appeared on ''The View'' two days after the outburst, partly to discuss the matter, West called her to apologize personally. Swift said she accepted his apology. In September 2010, West wrote a series of apologetic tweets addressed to Swift including "Beyonce didn't need that. MTV didn't need that and Taylor and her family friends and fans definitely didn't want or need that" and concluding with "I'm sorry Taylor." West also revealed he had written a song for Swift and if she did not accept the song, he would perform it himself. However, on November 8, 2010, in an interview with a Minnesota radio station, West seemed to recant a bit of his past apologies by attempting to describe the act at the 2009 awards show as "selfless" and downgrade the perception of disrespect it created.

Discography

Solo Albums

''The College Dropout'' (2004)

''Late Registration'' (2005)

''Graduation'' (2007)

''808s & Heartbreak'' (2008)

''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' (2010)

Collaborations

''G.O.O.D. Morning, G.O.O.D. Night'' (2009) - with Malik Yusef

''Watch the Throne'' (2011) – with Jay-Z

''GOOD Music'' (2012) – with GOOD Music artists

Filmography

''We Were Once a Fairytale'' (2009)

''Runaway'' (2010)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Kanye West at Beatbuggy

Category:1977 births Category:Midwest hip hop musicians Category:African American rappers Category:African American record producers Category:African American male singers Category:American bloggers Category:American Christians Category:American hip hop record producers Category:American music industry executives Category:American music video directors Category:American pop musicians Category:Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Brit Award winners Category:Chicago State University alumni Category:Electro-hop musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop singers Category:Living people Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Rappers from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Rappers from Chicago, Illinois Category:Roc-A-Fella Records artists Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Songwriters from Illinois

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Name	Kid Rock
Landscape	Yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Robert James Ritchie
Born	January 17, 1971Romeo, Michigan, U.S.
Genre	Rock, hip hop, heavy metal, country
Occupation	Musician, Songwriter, Actor
Years active	1988–present
Associated acts	Uncle Kracker, Joe C., Champtown, Yelawolf, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Label	Atlantic, Jive, Top Dog
Website	}}

Robert James "Bob" Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations. Kid Rock released several studio albums that mostly went unnoticed before his 1998 record ''Devil Without a Cause'', released with Atlantic Records, sold 11 million albums behind the hits, "Bawitdaba", "Cowboy", and "Only God Knows Why". In 2000, he released ''The History of Rock,'' a compilation of remixed and remastered versions of songs from previous albums as well as the hit single, "American Bad Ass" and the previously unreleased "Abortion".

Kid Rock released the follow-up in 2001, ''Cocky''. After a slow start, his country-flavored hit "Picture" with Sheryl Crow resurrected the album and it went gold as a single and pushed the album's sales over 5 million. It was followed by 2003's self-titled release, which did not chart a major hit. In 2006 he released ''Live Trucker'', a live album.

In 2007 Kid Rock released ''Rock n Roll Jesus'', which produced a hit in "All Summer Long". It was his first worldwide smash hit, charting #1 in eight countries across Europe and in Australia. ''Rock N Roll Jesus'' sold 5 million albums worldwide and was certified triple platinum in the U.S. He released ''Born Free'' on November 16, 2010. It was announced on June 16, 2011 that "Born Free" was certified platinum by the 'Recording Industry Association Of America' (RIAA) for selling more than one million copies. This gives Kid Rock his sixth Platinum album certification.

Early life

Robert James "Bob" Ritchie was born on January 17, 1971 in Romeo, Michigan to William "Bill" Ritchie, a car dealer who owned several local dealerships, and Susan Ritchie. His family also owned a six-acre orchard and Ritchie regularly helped pick apples and cared for the family's horses. He has three siblings: two are older, brother William "Billy" Ritchie and sister Carol Ritchie; and one is younger, sister Jill Ritchie who is an actress. Ritchie found small-town life dull; he became interested in rap music, learned how to breakdance and participated in talent shows in the Detroit area. At age eleven he joined a breakdance crew called the Furious Funkers, and taught himself to work a cheap belt-driven turntable. In high school, Ritchie DJed at parties for beer. He eventually joined Bo Wisdom of Groove Time Productions, in Mt. Clemens, Michigan to perform basement parties for thirty dollars a night. He was then given his stage name; club goers dubbed him "Kid Rock" after they had enjoyed watching "that white kid rock."

Rock started rapping and joined a local hip hop group, The Beast Crew. It was composed of The Blackman, Champtown, KDC, Chris "Doc Roun-Cee" Pouncy. Rock befriended producer D-Nice of the legendary hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions. When Rock opened for BDP one night, D-Nice invited an A&R representative from Jive Records to see him perform. This meeting led to a demo deal, which developed into a full record contract.

Against his parents' wishes, Rock signed the deal at age seventeen. Despite his new record deal, he had a falling out with The Beast Crew when he signed over fellow member Champtown (the two have become friends again since). They left his vocals on the tracks of their debut underground album "Chapter 1: He Don't Want Us No More," against his wishes. Rock later became part of the Straight From The Underground Tour alongside several heavyweights of rap including Ice Cube, Too Short, D-Nice, Mac Dre, and Yo-Yo.

Career

On December 30, 1990 Kid Rock released his debut album ''Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast''. As noted by Insane Clown Posse member Violent J, this album made Kid Rock one of the two biggest rap stars in Detroit in 1990, along with local independent rapper Esham. Though Jive Records did not push the album it gained infamy when radio station WSUC-FM (90.5) of Cortland, NY was fined $23,700 by the FCC for playing the song Yo Da-Lin In the Valley then the largest fine against a radio station. Kid Rock's career had began to decline towards the end of 1990. Jive Records released Kid Rock from his contract in 1991. Once back in Detroit he became friends with Uncle Kracker after battling his brother in a freestyle rapping competition; Uncle Kracker became Kid Rock's DJ.

In late 1991 Kid Rock was picked up by an independent record label called Continuum Records. Though Insane Clown Posse's Violent J disliked Kid Rock's rapping style, he paid Kid Rock to appear on his group's first album, ''Carnival of Carnage'', in an attempt to gain notice for the album. Kid Rock showed up to record the song "Is That You?" intoxicated, but re-recorded his vocals and record scratching the following day. In March 1993, Continuum released his second album ''The Polyfuze Method'', which featured a more rock music-oriented sound with Kid Rock teaching himself how to play several different instruments including guitar, drums, keyboard and organ. The album saw some local college radio success at Central Michigan University with the tracks "Back From The Dead" and "Balls In Your Mouth". He released "U Don't Know Me" as the first single off the album, but it failed to chart, and the music video received little airplay on major music video channels. Kid Rock re-released "Back From The Dead" as a single to mainstream radio, but that too failed as a single. The album has sold around 15,000 copies. In 1992 Kid Rock appeared in the song "Is That You?" of the Carnival of Carnage by the Insane Clown Posse.

He released an Extended play EP called Fire It Up (EP) in 1993 The EP featured the song I Am the Bullgod which wouldn't be a hit until six years later Continuum didn't see a future with Kid Rock after this and released him from his contract in 1994

He moved back to Detroit where his on again off again relationship with Kelly South resulted in a son Robert James Ritchie Jr. Kid Rock released monthly demo tapes dubbed The Bootleg Series which featured demos of him and other up-and coming rappers and garage rock bands in the Detroit area Around the same time Kid Rock formed his back up band Twisted Brown Trucker Band later recruiting Joseph Joe C. Calleja who he met at a 1994 concert as part of the group In 1995 Rock took a job as a janitor at Whiterooms Studios to pay studio fees When he wasn't working, Kid Rock recorded the material that eventually made up his fourth album Early Morning Stoned Pimp which Rock released on his own label Top Dog Records During the recording process he met piano player Jimmie Bones who joined the band soon after The album was released February 12, 1996. A loan from his father aided the release. Kid Rock sold 6,000 copies from the trunk of his car including after his concerts With EMSP local success he released The Polyfuze Method in 1993 with I Am The Bullgod

Lava/Atlantic Records A&R man Andy Karp was interested, after seeing Kid Rock in Cleveland in December 1996 and again in March 1997 Following a two song demo tape containing Somebody's Gotta Feel This and I Got One For Ya [Jason Flom] supported Karp in signing Kid Rock for $100,000 However when recording sessions began Atlantic wanted more of a rock sound and didn't initially like Cowboy Devil Without A Cause and Only God Knows Why They asked Rock to take out I'm going platinum on Devil Without A Cause's chorus but he refused The conflict slowed down production however the album was completed on schedule with Rock mostly playing all the instruments himself

''Devil Without a Cause'' (1997–2002)

In 1997, Kid Rock added drummer/vocalist Stefanie Eulinberg to his band, joining Kenny Olson, Jason Krause, Jimmie Bones, Uncle Kracker, Misty Love, Shirley Hayden and Joe C.. On August 18, 1998, Atlantic released ''Devil Without a Cause'' behind the single "Welcome 2 The Party." Kid Rock went on the Vans Warped Tour to support the album, performing one of his first New York City shows at Luna Lounge on the Lower East Side during the CMJ convention. "Devil Without Cause Im Goin Platinum" Sales of "Welcome 2 The Party" and ''Devil'' were slow, though the 1998 Warped Tour in Northampton, Massachusetts stimulated regional interest in Massachusetts and New England. This led to substantial airplay in the summer and fall of 1998 on rock staples in Massachusetts WZLX and WAAF for the single "I Am The Bullgod." In December 1998, while dj'ing at a club he met and became friends with MTV host Carson Daly. He performed on ''MTV Fashionably Loud'' in Miami, then on MTV's ''Wanna B A VJ'' doing "My Name Is Rock" and was the DJ for ''TRL'' on the Spring Break Special as well as a judge on ''Say What Karaoke''. This raised his profile so by April 1999 ''Devil Without a Cause'' had achieved a gold disc. In May 1999 the single "Bawitdaba" off the album was released to radio outlets, and by June, ''Devil'' had gone platinum. Kid Rock went on his first major tour, Limptropolis, with Limp Bizkit and Staind. By the time he made his career defining performance at Woodstock 1999 on July 24, 1999, he was double platinum. The following single "Cowboy" was an even bigger hit. It was a mix of southern rock, country and rap that made the Top 40. Rock's next single, the rock ballad "Only God Knows Why", was the biggest hit off the album charting at No 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. By the time the final single "Wasting Time" was released the album had sold 7 million albums, ''Devil Without A Cause'' was certified 11 times platinum by the RIAA on April 17, 2003.

Rock was nominated as Best New Artist at the 2000 Grammy Awards, but lost to Christina Aguilera. He was nominated for "Bawitdaba" for Best Hard Rock Performance, but lost to Metallica's "Whiskey in the Jar."

After reacquiring the rights to his early material in 2000, Rock released ''The History of Rock'', a collection of remixed and re-recorded songs from The Polyfuze Method and Early Mornin Stoned Pimp. "American Bad Ass", one of two new tracks, was released as a single. It sampled the Metallica track "Sad But True".

On May 27 Kid Rock appeared on ''Saturday Night Live'' performing "American Bad Ass" and an acoustic version of "Only God Knows Why" that featured Phish's Trey Anastasio. Kid Rock joined Phish later in the year in Las Vegas, Nevada, for a set of cover songs.

A 2000 tour in which David Allan Coe performed as an opening act for Kid Rock was the subject of criticism from journalist Neil Strauss, who alleged that Coe's songs were racist.

From June 30 to August 22, 2000, Kid Rock joined the Summer Sanitarium Tour with Metallica, Korn, Powerman 5000, and System of a Down. Kid Rock filled in for James Hetfield of Metallica, singing vocals on the songs "Enter Sandman", "Sad But True", and "Nothing Else Matters" and the turntables for "Fuel", for three shows after Hetfield injured his spine riding a jet ski on Lake Lanier the day before the July 7 Atlanta concert.

On November 16, 2000 Joseph "Joe C" Calleja died in his sleep from Coeliac disease in Taylor, MI. The disease stunted his growth and forced him to take 60 pills a day. Joe C's final song was "Cool Daddy Cool" for the ''Osmosis Jones'' soundtrack. The band made a cameo in the movie as the band playing in the club scene. Kid Rock was referred to as Kidney Rock to go along with the cartoon aspect of being a cell in the body of Frank played by Bill Murray.

In early 2001, Rock inducted Aerosmith into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and performed "Sweet Emotion" at the induction ceremony. The same year, Rock landed his first acting role in the David Spade white trash comedy ''Joe Dirt''. His character was Robbie a redneck bully to Joe Dirt who was chasing after Joe's unaware love interest Brandy.

"American Bad Ass" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 2001s Grammy Awards. Losing out to Rage Against The Machine's "Guerilla Radio". The ''History of Rock'' would go on to be certified double platinum.

In November, Kid Rock released ''Cocky'', which was marketed as the official follow up to ''Devil Without a Cause''. With the era of rap metal on the decline, Kid Rock included several southern rock and country ballads on the album. The first single, "Forever", featured his standard brash rap-rock sound, but lacked the selling power of "Devil Without A Cause". The songs "Lonely Road of Faith"and "You Never Met a Motherfucker Quite Like Me" were released as singles, but were not successful, and the album struggled to reach platinum a year later. Rock had problems with the release of "Picture", a country-influenced duet with Sheryl Crow: his label felt it was wrong for his image, and was not keen to spend more money promoting a flagging album; then, when they agreed to release it, Sheryl Crow's label initially refused to give permission. Rock, meanwhile, made a radio version with Allison Moorer, which was gaining airplay. When "Picture" was released it introduced Kid Rock to a wider audience, and was ultimately the most successful single on the album. The song would chart at No 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No 17 on Country radio. The song remains his most successful pop song in the U.S. to date.

On December 14, 2001, CMT aired an episode of ''Crossroads'' featuring Rock with Hank Williams, Jr. The episode drew 2.1 million viewers, a record on CMT. He would perform for troops in January 2002 on an MTV USO Special at Germany's Ramstein Air Base along with Ja Rule and Jennifer Lopez.

At the end of 2002, Uncle Kracker left the band to pursue a solo career, and Detroit underground rapper Paradime replaced him. Kid Rock made his second movie, ''Biker Boyz'', with Laurence Fishburne.

''Kid Rock'' to ''Rock n Roll Jesus'' (2003–2009)

In 2003, Kid Rock returned with an eponymous album, almost stripping away the accustomed rap metal sound he had created, opting for southern rock and several country ballads in the wake of "Picture"'s success. The album's lead single was a cover of Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love". A media blitz accompanied the single capped off by the VH-1 special called ''A Kid Rock Christmas'', which aired on December 14, 2003. He would release "Cold and Empty", "Jackson, Mississippi" and "I Am" I Am (Kid Rock song) to minor success on radio. The David Allan Coe-penned "Single Father", became his second charting country song, although like the other singles it was minor hit at #50. Kid Rock would be his lowest selling mainstream studio album of his career with 1.4 million copies sold.

Kid Rock was involved in the halftime show controversy at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Texas on February 1, 2004. He was criticized by the Veterans of Foreign Wars for desecrating the American flag, by wearing one slit in the middle as a poncho.

The following month, Kid inducted Bob Seger into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In September 2005, Kid Rock filled in for Johnny Van Zant, the lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd on the band's hit "Sweet Home Alabama" at the Hurricane Katrina benefit concert.

He performed the theme song for Spike TV's ''Striperella'', which featured Pamela Anderson in 2003, the song was entitled "Erotica".

On February 28, 2006, Kid Rock released his first live album, ''Live Trucker'', comprising songs from his homestead performances in Clarkston (on September 1, 2000, and August 26 through August 28, 2004), and Detroit's Cobo Hall (March 26, 2004). The album contained the last two performances of Joe C. on "Devil Without a Cause" and "Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp," as well as Kid dueting with country star Sheryl Crow on "Picture."

He brought Bob Seger back from semi-retirement during his pre-Super Bowl concerts on February 2 and 3, 2006 in Detroit. The two performed a version of Seger's "Rock 'n' Roll Never Forgets" on both nights. Kid Rock would appear on Bob Seger's album, ''Face the Promise'', on a Vince Gill cover of "Real Mean Bottle," a tribute to country legend Merle Haggard. He would make a cameo in the movie ''Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector'' and was in an episode of ''CSI: New York'' in 2006.

He inducted Lynyrd Skynyrd into the 2006 Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and performed "Sweet Home Alabama" with them.

''Rock n Roll Jesus'' was released on October 9, 2007, becoming Kid Rock's first album to go number 1, selling 172,000 copies in its first week. He made the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine for the second time, and appeared for the first time on ''Larry King Live'' to discuss the new album.

The album's first two singles were successful on rock radio in "So Hott" and "Amen". The album's third single "All Summer Long", became a global hit. It utilized a mash up of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" and Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London". "All Summer Long" would chart at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Rock n Roll Jesus" returned to the Top 10 for 17 straight weeks. Both "Roll On" and the title track were released as follow-up singles. The album's final single was "Blue Jeans and a Rosary" which was a minor country hit at No. 50.

In 2008, Kid Rock recorded "Warrior" for a National Guard advertising campaign. Kid Rock performed on VH1 ''Storytellers'' on November 27, 2008, giving an insight to how he wrote some of his hit songs. On April 5, 2009 he performed a 5-song medley at WrestleMania XXV.

He was nominated for best rock album and best male pop/rock performance for "All Summer Long" at the 2009 Grammys. He lost to Coldplay's ''Viva La Vida'' for best Rock Album and John Mayer's "Say" for Best Male Pop/Rock Performance. He achieved his first country award winning for Best Wide Open Country Video for "All Summer Long" at the 2009 CMT Awards.

On May 22 Kid Rock's June 8, 2008 concert at Germany's Rock AM Festival was aired on every MTV affiliate around the world on their debut show "World Stage".

At the 2008 Download Festival Kid Rock was meant to appear between Seether and Disturbed on the Main Stage but pulled out at the last minute. It was first announced that this was due to illness. Rock later claimed he left the festival grounds after becoming dissatisfied with the amenities. But, the following year, Download's booker theorized that it had been due to a broken heart.

On July 3, 2009 "Rock N Roll Jesus" was certified triple platinum by the RIAA.

Kid Rock held the largest headline concert of his career the weekend of July 17 and 18, 2009, at Comerica Park in Detroit. 80,000 people attended the two shows.

''Born Free'' (2009–present)

In April 2010 Kid Rock started the Born Free era off with a spring cruise dubbed "The Chillin The Most Cruise". Then he followed that up by hosting the CMT Awards in June and performed "Cowboy".

Kid Rock released ''Born Free'' on November 16, 2010 and it debuted at No 5 selling 189,000 copies in its first week. The album was produced by Rick Rubin and featured David Hildago and Matt Sweeney on guitar as well as Chad Smith on drums and Benmont Tench on keys and piano. The album became his first album without a parental advisory sticker on it. The album's lead single was the patriotic "Born Free."It peaked at No 14 on the mainstream rock charts, it also charted on the country and hot ac chart. It was the theme song to the 2010 MLB playoffs on TBS as well as WWE's Tribute To The Troops Special. The album reached gold status on December 15, 2010. The follow up single was the southern working man's anthem "God Bless Saturday", which peaked at no 37 on the mainstream rock tracks. It is the secondary theme song for College Gameday on ESPN. The third single was "Collide", Sheryl Crow rejoined him along with Bob Seger (on piano). They then went on a joint tour together the song peaked at No 26 on the hot ac chart and no 51 on the country chart. The next single "Purple Sky" a cover of Jason Boland would fail to chart. In November 2011, Kid Rock released "Care" a protest song about current politics in D.C. There were multiple versions released for the single. The album version feat. Martina McBride and T.I., the international single feat. Mary J Blidge. The last version which was released when Martina McBride's label wouldn't let her in on the music video, and the video was shot with the Pistol Annie's Angeleena Pressley. It's currently no 28 on the hot ac chart and no 58 on the country chart. An ep was released in the Detroit area along with the album called the Racing Father Time EP feat. It included remixes of Slow My Roll and Lonely Road Of Faith along with "The Midwest Fall" and "Forty". Born Free went platinum in July 2011.

On January 15, 2011 Kid Rock celebrated his 40th birthday with a performance at Ford Field in Detroit. The marathon concert featured Uncle Kracker, Peter Wolfe, Rev Run, Sheryl Crow, Cindy Crawford, Jimmie Johnson and Anita Baker. In December he went a 12 city club tour and donated proceeds to various charties in each city.

Kid Rock is currently writing songs for his successor to ''Born Free''. "We've already started writing for the next record and talking about the feel and where we want to go with it," Rock told Billboard.com during a press conference Thursday announcing an Aug. 12 stadium show in his home town of Detroit. "I think 'Born Free' was kind of a transitional record with [producer] Rick Rubin and going into the rootsy, American blues/rock 'n' roll vibe. I'd kind of like to go back to something like maybe a 'Cocky' feel -- that record, but knowing more now and trying to put those elements together." Rock's other future plan includes coming to terms with video footage he has accumulated over the years and possibly making some commercially available in the near future. "It's something I struggle with," he acknowledged. "I've probably shot six DVDs, professionally, had them edited and everything. But it's like anything; if you go see a sporting event or whatever, it's always better live. It's just tough to capture it on tape." Rock promised that "there will be something... I think for Christmas" and possibly from his recent show at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which he called "one of my best performances to date." He added that he may also consider releasing live footage via his web site.

In 2010 he filmed the Born Free video for his song at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

On December 7, 2011, Kid Rock joined Metallica on-stage at The Fillmore San Francisco during the ''30 Years of Metallica'' celebration (Day 2) to perform Seger's Turn the Page.

Musical style and influences

Kid Rock's musical style ranges from Midwest hip hop and heavy metal to country rock and rap rock. His influences include Warren Zevon, Jim Croce, Johnny Cash, David Allan Coe, Bob Seger, Run-DMC, Beastie Boys, Whodini, Too Short, Eric B. & Rakim, Esham and Lynyrd Skynyrd .

Twisted Brown Trucker

Twisted Brown Trucker is Kid Rock's band, formed in 1994 in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The original lineup included Kenny Olson on lead guitar, Uncle Kracker on turntables, Andy Gould and George Metropolous on guitar, Paul Anthony on bass and Bob Ebeling on drums. The band's first involvement was on the 1994 demo of "Dark & Gray" on his Bootleg Series Tapes, they would make three more appearances on the tapes in Watch Me Come, Only a Dog and Box #10. Trucker became both Rock's studio and live band in 1997.

Chris Peters was the studio guitarist for The Polyfuze Method and Fire It Up. Matt O'Brien (Bass) and Kenny Tudrick (Guitar, Drums) were studio musicians for Devil Without a Cause.

Kenny Olson went on to form numerous bands for more creative outlets. A Pack of Wolves, The Flask, Five Star Carni, The Motorfly's, and most recent (2010) 7 Day Binge. He has also made appearances on many other recordings such as the song "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" which can be found on the Les Paul & Friends CD as well as a version of "Little Wing" with Chaka Khan on "The Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix" among numerous others.

Tudrick is with the band Detroit Cobras, who he was with before touring on Kid Rock's 'Live' Trucker tour.

Percussionist Larry Frantangelo won a Detroit Music Award in 2009 for Outstanding Urban/Funk Musician.

;Current members

Jimmie "Bones" Trombley – keyboards, piano, organ, harmonica, backing vocals (1996–present)

Marlon Young – lead & rhythm guitar (1996–1997, 2007–present)

Jason Krause – rhythm & lead guitar (1997–present)

Stefanie Eulinberg – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1998–present)

Paradime – turntables, programming, keyboards (2002–present)

Aaron Julison – bass guitar, backing vocals (2003–present)

Shannon Curfman – backing vocal & guitar (2010–present)

''with:''

Larry Frantangelo – percussion (2007–present)

David McMurray – saxophone (2007–present)

Jessica Wagner;– backing vocals (2007–present)

Tyra Juliette -backing vocals (2007–present)

;Former members

Barbara Payton- backing vocals (2007–2009, on and off)

Stacy Michelle- backing vocals (2007–2009)

Kenny Olson – lead guitar (1994–2005)

Uncle Kracker – turntables (1994–2002)

Joe C – backing vocals (1994–2000)

Andy Gould – rhythm guitar (1994–1995)

George Metropolous – rhythm guitar (1994–1995)

Paul Anthony – bass (1994–1995)

Bob Ebeling – drums (1994–1995)

Bill Keros – drums (1995)

Eric Hogemeyer – drums (1995)

Jeff Hall – rhythm guitar (1995–1996)

Chris Zuccaro – drums (1995–1998)

Ray Echlin – bass (1996)

Lonnie Motley – bass (1996–1998)

Chris Lebroux – bongos (1997)

Thornetta Davis – backing vocals (1997–1998)

Mike Bradford – bass (1998–2001)

Misty Love – backing vocals (1998–2001)

Shirley Hayden – backing vocals (1998–2001)

Bobby East – bass (2001–2003)

Smith Curry – dobro (2004–2005)

Karen Newman – backing vocals (2004–2005)

Lauren Creamer – backing vocals (2004–2005)

Kenny Tudrick – lead guitar (2005–2006)

Personal life

Marriage to Pamela Anderson

In 2001 Kid Rock began dating actress Pamela Anderson, after the two met at a VH1 tribute to Aretha Franklin. By April 2002, he and Anderson were engaged, but the engagement was later called off. They later got married in a surprise wedding in July 2006 after it was reported Anderson was pregnant. They divorced five months later because Rock wanted to live in Detroit and Anderson wanted to stay in Los Angeles. It has been suggested that his no-show at the Download Festival 2008 was due to a broken heart.

Kid Rock has stated in numerous interviews that he is a lover of hunting and fishing. He has hunted with his good friend Hank Williams Jr. several times. When Rock and Pamela Anderson divorced, it was rumored that Rock's hunting passion was the cause of the relationship's end, Anderson being a keen animal rights activist.

Rock later claimed, however, that the divorce was due to Anderson openly criticizing his mother and sister in front of his son from a previous relationship, Robert Jr., which Rock took offense to. Rock has actively raised Robert Jr., born in 1993, as a single father since birth, and continues to live with him in Michigan. On July 6, 2011, Kid Rock appeared on CNN's ''Piers Morgan Tonight'' show where he said he has no regrets about anything he has done in the past. He declined to say whether his marriage to Pamela Anderson had taught him any lessons.

Legal troubles

Kid Rock has had multiple run-ins with law enforcement:

In March 1991 and September 1997, Kid Rock was arrested in Michigan for alcohol related incidents.

In February 2005, he was arrested on assault charges for punching DJ Jay Campos in 'Christies Cabaret' strip club. Rock pleaded no contest and was sued for $575,000 by Campos.

Kid Rock was cited for assault on Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee on September 9, 2007 at MTV's Video Music Awards, and pled guilty.

In October 2007, Kid Rock was involved in a brawl at a Waffle House in Atlanta and charged with simple battery. He pleaded nolo contendere ("no contest") to one count, was fined $1,000, required to perform 80 hours of community service and complete a 6-hour course on anger management.

Sex tape

Kid Rock and Scott Stapp, singer of the band Creed, appear in a sex tape from 1999 in which the two have sex with four groupies in a mobile home. California pornography company Red Light District planned to release the tape in 2006, but both Rock and Stapp filed with the California courts to sue Red Light District and stop the tape's distribution.

Activism

Kid Rock has been involved with many charitable organizations but his main support has gone to Operation Homefront. Kid Rock has frequently partnered with Jim Beam to make large donations to the organization. He is close friends with Tony Stewart as he helps with charity events, and Kid Rock narrated ''Tony Stewart: Smoke'', a documentary of Stewart's 2002 championship season. Kid Rock has performed for American service men and women in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Kosovo, and has performed for U.S. servicemembers in Great Britain at R.A.F. bases such as RAF Lakenheath.

Discography

1990: ''Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast''

1993: ''The Polyfuze Method''

1996: ''Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp''

1998: ''Devil Without a Cause''

2000: ''The History of Rock''

2001: ''Cocky''

2003: ''Kid Rock''

2006: ''Live Trucker''

2007: ''Rock n Roll Jesus''

2010: ''Born Free''

Tours

1989: Straight From the Underground Tour (opened for Ice Cube, Too $hort, D Nice and Yo-Yo)

1998: Lollapalooza Tour

1998: Vans Warped Tour

1998–99: White Thrash on Dope Tour (with Monster Magnet and Hed PE)

1999: Destroy Your Liver Tour

1999: Limptropolis Tour (with Limp Bizkit and Staind)

1999: European Tour (with Blink-182)

1999: Between the Legs Tour (with Powerman 5000, Professional Murder Music)

1999-00: Millennium Tour (with Metallica, Sevendust and Creed)

2000: Summer Sanitarium Tour (with Metallica, Korn, System of a Down, Powerman 5000)

2000: The History of Rock Tour (with Dope)

2001: The American Bad Ass Tour (with Buckcherry, Fuel and David Allan Coe)

2002: The Cocky Tour (with Lit, Tenacious D and Saliva)

2002: Girls of Summer Tour (opening for Aerosmith with Run-D.M.C.)

2004: Rock n Roll Pain Train Tour (with Puddle of Mudd, Gov't Mule, Jerry Cantrell)

2005: Lazy Muthafuga Tour (only 6 concert dates)

2006: 'Live' Trucker Tour (with Ty Stone, Peter Frampton (opened in Auburn Hills, Michigan) and Whitestarr)

2007–2008: Rock n Roll Revival Tour (with Reverend Run, Dicky Betts, Duane Betts, Peter Wolf, Lynyrd Skynyrd, in a revue style)

2008: Rock n Roll Revival Tour: European Tour

2008: Rock n Rebels Tour (with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Backdoor Slam)

2008: European Tour (with Finger Eleven)

2008: All Summer Long Tour (4 nights at Pine Knob with Uncle Kracker & Rev Run)

2009: Rock n Rebels Tour II (with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights, Black Stone Cherry, Alice in Chains, Cypress Hill, Robert Randolph and the Family Band)

2010: The Circle Tour (opening for Bon Jovi)

2011: Ford field, Detroit Michigan 40th Birthday Bash-January

2011: Born Free Tour (with Sheryl Crow)

2011: (Fall) Care - Club Tour for charity

Filmography

''The Howard Stern Show'' (8 episodes, 1999–2008)

''Saturday Night Live'' (Musical Guest, 2000)

''The Simpsons'' (1 episode, 2000)

''WWF Raw is War'' (Musical Guest, 2000)

''Joe Dirt'' (2001)

''Osmosis Jones'' (Voice, 2001)

''Kid Rock: Lonely Road of Faith'' (2001)

''King of the Hill'' (2002)

''Punk'd'' (1 episode, 2003)

''Biker Boyz'' (2003)

''Stripperella'' (You Only Lick Twice, 2003)

''CMT Outlaws'' (2003)

''South Park'' (2004)

''CSI: NY'' (1 episode, 2005)

''Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector'' (2005)

''Motorcycle Mania 3'' (2005)

''Coors Light Mountain Jam'' (2005)

''Stacked'' (1 episode, 2002)

''The 2006 Billboard Music Awards'' (2006)

''VH1 Storytellers'' (2008)

''WrestleMania XXV'' (Musical Guest, 2009)

''2010 Spike Guy Choice Awards'' (Presenter, 2009)

''Top Gear (U.S. TV series)'' (1 episode, 2010)

''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' (1 episode, 2011)

''Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives'' (1 episode, 2011)

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

*2000 Best New Artist (Nominated)

*2000 Best Hard Rock Performance for "Bawitdaba" (Nominated)

*2001 Best Hard Rock Performance for "American Bad Ass" (Nominated)

*2009 Best Rock Album for ''Rock n Roll Jesus'' (Nominated)

*2009 Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "All Summer Long" (Nominated)

Academy of Country Music

*2003, Vocal Event of the Year: "Picture" (Nominated)

American Music Awards

*2008, Favorite Male Pop/Rock Artist (Nominated)

*2003, Favorite Male Pop/Rock Artist: (Winner)'''

*2003, Favorite Pop/Rock Album: ''Cocky'' (Nominated)

*2001, Favorite Male Pop/Rock Artist: (Winner)'''

*2000, Favorite Alternative Artist: (Nominated)

*2000, Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist: (Nominated)

Billboard Music Awards

*1999 Best New Artist (Winner)

*1999 Best Hard Rock Performance for "Bawitdaba" (Winner)

*1999 Best New Hard Rock Artist (Winner)

MTV Video Music Awards

*2001, Best Male Video: "Cowboy" (Nominated)

*2001, Best Rock Video: "Cowboy" (Nominated)

*2000, Best Male Video: "Bawitdaba" (Nominated)

*2000, Best New Artist: "Bawitdaba" (Nominated)

Teen Choice Awards

*2003, Choice Love Song: "Picture" (Nominated)

*2003 Choice Hookup Song: "Picture" (Nominated)

Detroit Music Awards

*1999

**Outstanding National Album for ''Devil Without a Cause'' (Winner)

**Outstanding National Single for "I Am the Bullgod" (Winner)

**Outstanding National Single for "Bawitdaba" (Nominee)

**Outstanding National Hip Hop Writer/Producer (Winner)

*2000

**Outstanding National Album for ''History of Rock'' (Nominee)

**Outstanding National Single for "American Bad Ass" (Winner)

**Outstanding National Single for "Cowboy" (Nominee)

**Outstanding National Duet for "Higher" with Robert Bradley (Winner)

**Outstanding National Spokesperson (Winner)

*2001

**Outstanding National Album for ''Cocky'' (Nominated)

**Outstanding National Single for "Forever" (Nominated)

*2003

**Outstanding National Single for "Picture" (Nominated)

*2004

**Outstanding National Album for Kid Rock (Nominated)

**Outstanding National Single for "Cold and Empty" (Nominated)

**Outstanding National Single for "Jackson, Mississippi" (Nominated)

*2006

**Outstanding National Album for ''Live Trucker'' (Nominated)

*2008

**Outstanding National Album for ''Rock n Roll Jesus'' (Winner)

**Outstanding National Single for "So Hott" (Nominated)

**Outstanding National Single for "Amen" (Nominated)

*2009

**Outstanding National Single for ''All Summer Long'' (Winner)

**Outstanding National Single for ''Roll On'' (Nominated)

MTV European Music Awards

*2008 Most Attictive Track for "All Summer Long" (Nominated)

BMI Songwriting Award

*2002 "Picture" (Winner)

CMT Music Awards

*2003 Choice Male Video for "Picture" (Nominated)

*2009 Video of The Year for "All Summer Long" (Nominated)

*2009 Wide Open Country Video of the Year for "All Summer Long" (Winner)

World Music Awards

*2008 Worlds Best Male Pop Artist (Winner)

*2008 Worlds Best Pop/Rock Artist (Winner)

People's Choice Awards

*2009 Best Rock Song for "All Summer Long" (Winner)

Kid's Choice Awards

*2009 Favorite Male Singer (Current Nominee)

Echo Award (Germany)

*2009 Hit Of The Year for "All Summer Long" (Winner)

Other ventures and honors

He has his own clothing line called Made in Detroit which he purchased from its creator, Detroit designer Robert Stanzler, in 2003. Stanzler, a longtime friend of Kid Rock, is mentioned by name in Rock's song "Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp". Wayne State University named a scholarship after Kid Rock for musicians. Kid Rock is using his clothing line to fund it. He was Grand Marshal of the Krewe of Endymion Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans on February 21, 2009 and was accompanied by The Chee-Weez, a local area cover band.

He released his own beer called Bad Ass Beer on July 17, 2009 released over the entire midwestern part of the U.S.

Kid Rock is a steadfast loyal supporter of the United States military. He gave proceeds of a concert to the families affected by the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. He has quietly made numerous trips with the USO, and on his own, to play concerts for soldiers overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait. He also made his album ''Born Free'' available to military members to download for free.

References

Sources

Christe, Ian (2003). ''Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal''. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-380-81127-8

External links

Kid Rock at Imeem.com

Kid Rock Interview on ''The Hour'' with George Stroumboulopoulos

UK Interview (11/8/2008)http://www.thrashhits.com/2008/08/kid-rock-%E2%80%9Ci-was-the-kid-with-the-vial-full-of-rocks%E2%80%A6%E2%80%9D/

Category:1971 births Category:American rock singers Category:American male singers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Living people Category:People from Macomb County, Michigan Category:Rap rock musicians Category:Rappers from Detroit, Michigan Category:World Music Awards winners

bg:Кид Рок cs:Kid Rock da:Kid Rock de:Kid Rock es:Kid Rock fa:کید راک fr:Kid Rock it:Kid Rock lv:Kid Rock nl:Kid Rock ja:キッド・ロック no:Kid Rock pl:Kid Rock pt:Kid Rock ru:Кид Рок simple:Kid Rock sk:Kid Rock fi:Kid Rock sv:Kid Rock th:คิด ร็อก tr:Kid Rock

name	Sage Francis
background	solo_singer
birth name	Paul Francis
born	November 18, 1976 Providence, Rhode Island
genre	Hip hop
occupation	Rapper, Spoken Word Artist
years active	1996–present
associated acts	Non-Prophets, Joe Beats, B. Dolan, Sole, Alias, Art Official Intelligence
label	Strange Famous RecordsEpitaphAnticonANTI-
website	Official Website
notable instruments	}}

Paul "Sage" Francis (born November 18, 1976) is a hip-hop artist from Providence, Rhode Island.

Biography

Born Paul Francis in Miami, Florida, Sage Francis is a rapper/writer/performer from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of the independent hip-hop record label Strange Famous Records. This label first began as a way for Francis to bootleg his unreleased songs in the late 90's and has since evolved into an official enterprise with an expanding roster of like-minded artists. Francis won the Scribble Jam Emcee battle in 2000 and released several CDs available only on his tours and website (''Still Sick'', ''Sick Of Waiting'', ''Sick of Waging War'', ''Sickly Business'', ''Still Sickly Business'', ''Sick of Wasting included''). In 2001 his song "Makeshift Patriot" became an internet hit for its critique of American media during, and immediately following, the September 11 attacks. After releasing his critically acclaimed ''Personal Journals'' album in 2002 he signed to Epitaph Records, making Francis the first hip-hop artist to sign with the punk-rock label. He subsequently released three albums with Epitaph; ''A Healthy Distrust'' (2005), ''Human the Death Dance'' (2007), and ''Li(f)e'' (2010)

Francis is also part of the contemporary spoken word movement. Francis' relationship with the Providence Poetry Slam community (he was on their 1998, 1999 and 2002 national poetry slam teams) led to it being called "The House that Sage Francis Built." From 2000 - 2002, he also DJ-ed for the NYC-Urbana Poetry Slam, a weekly slam series held at the legendary punk rock venue CBGB.

Discography

''The Known UnSoldier "Sick of Waging War'' (Strange Famous Records, 2001)

''Sage Frenchkiss'' (Strange Famous Records, 2002)

''Personal Journals'' (Anticon, 2002)

''A Healthy Distrust'' (Epitaph, 2005)

''Human the Death Dance'' (Epitaph, 2007)

''Sick Of Wasting'' (Strange Famous Records, 2009)

''Li(f)e'' (Anti-, 2010)

References

External links and further reading

Official Sage Francis website

Strange Famous Records

Strange Famous Forum

KnowMore: The People's Corporation Watch Project

Interview for Slap Magazine (Dead Link)

Interview for Scene Missing Magazine

Sage Francis Interview with Chuck D.

Interview with Sage Francis 2010

Interview: Sage Francis | The Find Magazine (2010)

Category:1976 births Category:American vegetarians Category:Epitaph Records artists Category:Living people Category:People from Providence, Rhode Island Category:Rappers from Rhode Island Category:Slam poets Category:Spoken word poets Category:Underground rappers

de:Sage Francis fr:Sage Francis it:Sage Francis nl:Sage Francis pl:Sage Francis fi:Sage Francis sv:Sage Francis

name	Umar Abdulmutallab
image name	UmarFarouk.jpg
image alt	A young, African man with dark skin, short black hair, and brown eyes, wearing a white T-shirt.
birth date	December 22, 1986
birth place	Kaduna, Nigeria
residence	FCI Milan federal prison in
alias	Omar Farooq al-Nigeri
charge	Indicted on six criminal counts, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted murder of 289 people, attempted destruction of a civilian aircraft, placing a destructive device on an aircraft, and 2 explosive possession charges
conviction penalty	Not available
conviction status	Incarcerated
occupation	Engineering, MBA, and Arabic language student
ethnicity	FIlthy Jew
parents	Alhaji Umaru Mutallab (father) and Aisha (mother)
children	}}

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (also referred to as Umar Abdul Mutallab and Omar Farooq al-Nigeri; born December 22, 1986), popularly referred to as the "Underwear Bomber", attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253, en route from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, on December 25, 2009.

He was subsequently charged on six criminal counts, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder of 289 people. He is in U.S. custody, awaiting further legal proceedings.

Background

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is the youngest of the 16 children of Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, one of the richest men in his caliphate in Kaduna, a state in Nigeria, and a former Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria and former Nigerian Federal Commissioner for Economic Development. His mother, Aisha, is the second of his father's two wives.

The family comes from Funtua in Katsina State. Abdulmutallab was raised initially in an affluent neighborhood of Kaduna, in Nigeria's north, and at the family home in Nairobi, Kenya. As a young boy he attended the Essence International School in Kaduna, as well as classes at the Rabiatu Mutallib Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies. As a child he enjoyed playing PlayStation and basketball . According to one of his cousins, Abdulmutallab condemned his father's banking profession as "immoral" and "un-Islamic" for charging interest, urging him to quit.

Togo: High school years

He attended high school at the British International School in Lomé, the capital of Togo, a popular private school in West Africa. Abdulmutallab was known as a devout Muslim and for preaching about Islam to his schoolmates. While at school, he was nicknamed "Alfa," which is a term for Muslim clerics, and "Pope" – both due to his piety. A teacher, John McGuinness, described Abdulmutallab as "incredibly polite and very hard-working" during this time, while also noting his devotion to the Muslim faith.

He was described as a "dream student" by his history teacher, Michael Rimmer. ''The Telegraph'' interviewed Rimmer, who said that Abdulmutallab had defended the Taliban during classroom discussions of their social policies, and their destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan. Rimmer described Abdulmutallab's family as "wonderful", and said he had been fond of Abdulmutallab. He also said he thought Abdulmutallab had been playing "devil's advocate" during the classroom discussions, and that he had really understood Abdulmutallab, but concluded he had not understood him after all.

Abdulmutallab visited the U.S. for the first time in 2004.

Yemen: 2004–05

For the 2004–05 academic year, Abdulmutallab studied at the San'a Institute for the Arabic Language in Sana'a, Yemen, and attended lectures at Iman University.

Web postings

''CNN'' reported that in regard to the Internet username "Farouk1986," "the many detailed biographical points made by the poster match what has been reported about Mutallab's life." On December 28, 2009, a U.S. government official said the government was reviewing the online postings, and has not yet independently confirmed the authenticity of the posts.

CNN reported that, by 2005, "Farouk1986"'s postings "had a serious view of his religion." Tracey D. Samuelson of the ''Christian Science Monitor'' said that the posts "suggest a student preoccupied by university admissions and English soccer clubs, but who was also apparently lonely and conflicted." The ''Washington Post'' reviewed 300 online postings by "Farouk1986"; Philip Rucker and Julie Tate of the ''Washington Post'' said: "Taken together, the writings demonstrate an acute awareness of Western customs and a worldliness befitting Mutallab's privileged upbringing as a wealthy Nigerian banker's son." The user name posted on Facebook and on Islamic Forum (gawaher.com).

Farouk1986 discussed loneliness and marriage in his postings between 2005 and 2007, writing on January 28, 2005:

As i get lonely, the natural sexual drive awakens and i struggle to control it, sometimes leading to minor sinful activities like not lowering the gaze [in the presence of unveiled women]. And this problem makes me want to get married to avoid getting aroused.

And:

The hair of a woman can easily arouse a man. The Prophet (SAW) advised young men to fast if they can't get married but it has not been helping me much and I seriously don't want to wait for years before I get married. But i am only 18 ... It would be difficult for me to get married due to social norms of getting to the late 20's when one has a degree, a job, a house, etc before getting married. So usually my fa[n]tasies are about islamic stuff. The bad part of it is sometimes the fantasies are a bit worldly rather than concentrating in the hereafter.

In a posting on February 20, 2005, he wrote:

Alright, i wont go into too much details about me fantasy, but basically they are jihad fantisies [sic]. I imagine how the great jihad will take place, how the muslims will win insha Allah and rule the whole world, and establish the greatest empire once again!!!

And in a May 2005 posting, he referred to radical Jamaican-born Muslim cleric Abdullah el-Faisal, who had been imprisoned in the UK for urging his followers to murder Jews, Hindus, and Americans, writing:

“i thought once they are arrested, no one hears about them for life and the keys to their prison wards are thrown away. That’s what I heard sheikh faisal of UK say (he has also been arrested i heard).”

In January 2006 he chastised female users for not wearing the ''hijab'', adding:

I don’t think it is allowed to be just friends with someone from the opposite sex. Except when thinking of marriage or when you have to work together.

London: September 2005 – June 2008

Abdulmutallab began his studies at University College London in September 2005, where he studied Engineering and Business Finance, and earned a degree in mechanical engineering in June 2008.

He was president of the school's Islamic Society, which some sources have described as a vehicle for peaceful protest against the actions of the United States and the United Kingdom in the War on Terrorism. During his tenure as president, along with political discussions, the club participated in activities such as martial arts training and paintballing; at least one of the Society's paintballing trips involved a preacher who reportedly said: “Dying while fighting ''jihad'' is one of the surest ways to paradise.” He is the fourth president of a London student Islamic society to face terrorist charges in three years. He devoted more time while at school to the group's activities than to his studies, graduating with a 2:2, the second-lowest in the class, (equal to a grade point average of 3.0) according to a friend. He organized a conference in January 2007 under the banner “War on Terror Week”, and advertised speakers including political figures, human rights lawyers, speakers from Cageprisoners, and former Guantánamo Bay detainees. One lecture, Jihad v Terrorism, was billed as “a lecture on the Islamic position with respect to jihad”.

During those years he “crossed the radar screen” of MI5, the UK's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, for radical links and “multiple communications” with Islamic extremists.

At the age of 21, Abdulmutallab told his parents that he wanted to get married; they refused to allow him to do so on the grounds that he had not earned a master's degree.

On June 12, 2008, Abdulmutallab applied for and received from the U.S. consulate in London a U.S. multiple-entry visa, valid to June 12, 2010, with which he visited Houston, Texas, from August 1–17, 2008. After graduating from university, Abdulmutallab made regular visits to Kaduna.

Dubai: January–July 2009

From January until July 2009, he attended a master's of international business degree program at University of Wollongong in Dubai.

In May 2009, Abdulmutallab tried to return to Britain, ostensibly for a six-month "life coaching" program at what the British authorities concluded was a fictitious school; accordingly, his visa application was denied by the United Kingdom Border Agency. His name was placed on a UK Home Office security watch list, which according to BBC News means he could not enter the UK, though passing through the country in transit was permissible and he was not permanently banned; the UK did not share the information with other countries. This is because the application was rejected to prevent immigration fraud rather than for a national security purpose.

Yemen: August–December 2009

Intelligence officials suspect al-Awlaki may have directed Abdulmutallab to Yemen for al-Qaeda training. Abdulmutallab's father agreed in July 2009 to his request to return to the San'a Institute for the Arabic Language in Yemen to study Arabic from August to September 2009. He arrived in the country in August.

Abdulmutallab was the only African student in the school of 70 students. A fellow student at the Institute said Abdulmutallab would start his day by going to the mosque for dawn prayers, and then would spend hours in his room reading the Quran. Ahmed Mohammed, one of his teachers, said Abdulmutallab spent the last 10 days of Ramadan sequestered in a mosque. He apparently left the Institute after a month, while remaining in-country.

His family became concerned in August 2009 when he called them to say he had dropped the course, but was remaining there. By September he routinely skipped his classes at the Institute and attended lectures at Iman University, notorious for suspected links to terrorism. “He told me his greatest wish was for ''sharia'' and Islam to be the rule of law across the world,” said one of his classmates at the Institute.

The Institute obtained an exit visa for him at his request, and on September 21 arranged for a car that took him to the airport. But the school's director said: "After that, we never saw him again, and apparently he did not leave Yemen". In October, Abdulmutallab sent his father a text message saying that he was no longer interested in pursuing an MBA in Dubai, and wanted instead to study ''sharia'' and Arabic in a seven-year course in Yemen. His father threatened to cut off his funding, whereupon Abdulmutallab said he was “already getting everything for free”. When his father asked who would sponsor him, Abdulmutallab replied "That's none of your business." Among the other text messages he sent to his father were: "I've found a new religion, the real Islam"; "You should just forget about me, I'm never coming back"; "Please forgive me. I will no longer be in touch with you"; and "Forgive me for any wrongdoing, I am no longer your child." The family last had contact with Abdulmutallab in October 2009.

Yemeni officials said that he was in Yemen from early August 2009, overstayed his student visa (which was valid through September 21), and left Yemen on December 7 (flying to Ethiopia, and then two days later to Ghana). Yemeni officials have said that Abdulmutallab traveled to the mountainous Shabwah Province to meet with "al-Qaeda elements" before leaving Yemen. A video of Abdulmutallab and others training in a desert camp, firing weapons at targets including the Jewish star, the British Union Jack, and the letters "UN", was produced by al-Qaeda in Yemen (whose logo is in a corner of the screen). The tape also includes an apparent martyrdom statement from him, justifying his actions against "the Jews and the Christians and their agents." Ghanaian officials say he was there from December 9 until December 24, when he flew to Lagos.

In February 2010, a Yemeni security official said that 43 people were being interrogated for links to the Christmas Day attempt, including foreigners, some of them studying Arabic and others married to Yemeni women. Abdulmutallab was thought to have used Arabic studies as a pretext for entering the country.

Awareness by US Intelligence

On November 11, 2009, British intelligence officials sent the U.S. a cable indicating that a man named "Umar Farouk" had spoken to al-Awlaki, pledging to support ''jihad'', but the cable did not reflect Abdulmutallab's last name. Abdulmutallab's father made a report to two CIA officers at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, on November 19 regarding his son's "extreme religious views", and told the embassy that Abdulmutallab might be in Yemen. Acting on the report, the suspect's name was added in November 2009 to the U.S.'s 550,000-name Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, a database of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. It was not added, however, to the FBI's 400,000-name Terrorist Screening Database, the terror watch list that feeds both the 14,000-name Secondary Screening Selectee list and the U.S.'s 4,000-name No Fly List, nor was his U.S. visa revoked.

U.S. State Department officials said in Congressional testimony that the State Department had wanted to revoke Abdulmutallab's visa, but U.S. intelligence officials requested that his visa not be revoked. The intelligence officials' stated reason was that revoking Abdulmutallab's visa could have foiled a larger investigation into al-Qaeda.

Abdulmutallab's name had come to the attention of intelligence officials many months before that, but no "derogatory information" was recorded about him. A Congressional official said that Abdulmutallab's name appeared in U.S. reports reflecting that he had connections to both al-Qaeda and Yemen. The NCTC did not check to see whether Abdulmutallab's American visa was valid, or whether he had a British visa that was valid; therefore, they did not learn that the British had rejected Abdulmutallab's visa application earlier in 2009. The British did not inform the Americans because the visa application was denied to prevent immigration fraud and not for a national security purpose.

Contact with Islamic extremists

''The New York Times'' reported that "officials said the suspect told them he had obtained plastic explosives that were sewn into his underwear and a syringe from a bomb expert in Yemen associated with Al Qaeda."

Abdulmutallab had been a devout Muslim throughout his youth, but it is unclear when he became "radicalized." During his time in London, he reportedly visited the London Muslim Centre three times; the Centre is expected to be a focus of future investigations.

In April 2009, Abdulmutallab had applied to attend an Islamic seminar in Houston, Texas. He obtained a multiple-entry visa in the U.S. Consulate in June 2008 that would be valid until June 2010. He attended the Islamic seminar from August 1–17 at AlMaghrib Institute.

When Abdulmutallab returned to Yemen, purportedly to study Arabic again, he appeared to have undergone a personality change: he was more religious and ''"a loner"'', and wore traditional Islamic clothing. He rarely attended class, and sometimes he left class midway to go pray at a mosque.

Ties to Anwar al-Awlaki

A number of sources reported contacts between Abdulmutallab and Anwar al-Awlaki, a Muslim lecturer and spiritual leader who is accused of being a senior al-Qaeda talent recruiter and motivator. Al-Awlaki, previously an imam in the U.S. who more recently has lived in Yemen, also has links to three of the 9/11 hijackers, the 2005 London subway bombers, a 2006 Toronto terror cell, a 2007 Fort Dix attack plot, and the 2009 Fort Hood shooter.

With a blog and a Facebook page, he has been described as the "bin Laden of the internet."

Despite being banned from entering the UK in 2006, al-Awlaki spoke on at least seven occasions at five different venues around Britain via video-link in 2007–09. He gave a number of video-link lectures at the East London Mosque during this period. In one instance, the mosque provoked the outrage of ''The Daily Telegraph'' by hosting a video-teleconference by al-Awlaki in 2008, and former Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve expressed concern over al-Awlaki's involvement. On New Year's Day 2009 the mosque played a pre-recorded video lecture by al-Awlaki, with a poster depicting New York in flames. He also gave video-link talks in England to an Islamic student society at the University of Westminster in September 2008, an arts center in East London in April 2009 (after the Tower Hamlets council gave its approval), worshipers at the Al Huda Mosque in Bradford, and a dinner of the Cageprisoners organization in September 2008 at the Wandsworth Civic Centre in South London (at which he said "We should make jihad for our brothers and an angel will make the same jihad for you"). On August 23, 2009, al-Awlaki was banned by local authorities in Kensington and Chelsea, London, from speaking at Kensington Town Hall via videolink to a fundraiser dinner for Guantanamo detainees promoted by Cageprisoners. His videos, which discuss his Islamist theories, have also circulated in England.

Pete Hoekstra, the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said on the day of the attack that Obama administration officials and officials with access to law enforcement information told him "there are reports [the suspect] had contact [with al-Awlaki].... The question we'll have to raise is was this imam in Yemen influential enough to get some people to attack the U.S. again." He added: "The suspicion is ... that [the suspect] had contact with al-Awlaki. The belief is this is a stronger connection with al-Awlaki" than Hasan had. Hoekstra later said credible sources told him Abdulmutallab "most likely" has ties with al-Awlaki.

''The Sunday Times'' established that Abdulmutallab first met and attended lectures by al-Awlaki in 2005, when he was in Yemen to study Arabic. The two are also "thought to have met" in London, according to ''The Daily Mail''. ''Fox News'' reported that evidence collected during searches of "flats or apartments of interest" connected to Abdulmutallab in London showed that he was a "big fan" of al-Awlaki, as web traffic showed he followed Awlaki's blog and website.

However, there is no clear evidence that the two men met in London. ''NPR'' reported that according to unnamed intelligence officials Abdulmutallab attended a sermon by al-Awlaki at the Finsbury Park Mosque "in the fall of 2006 or 2007", but al-Awlaki was in fact in prison in Yemen during that period. The Finsbury Park Mosque has stated: "neither Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab nor Anwar al-Awlaki has ever been invited to attend NLCM since we took charge of the mosque in February 2005. We can be certain that neither man has been given a platform at the mosque in any form". ''CBS News'' and ''The Sunday Telegraph'' reported that Abdulmutallab attended a talk by al-Awlaki at the East London Mosque (which al-Awlaki may have participated in by video teleconference). However, ''The Sunday Telegraph'' has since removed the report from its website following a complaint by the East London Mosque, who stated that "Anwar Al Awlaki did not deliver any talks at the ELM between 2005 and 2008, which is when the newspaper had falsely alleged that Abdullmutallab had attended such talks".

University of Oxford historian, and professor of international relations, Mark Almond wrote that the suspect was "on American security watch-lists because of his links with ... Al-Awlaki".

''CBS News'' said that the two were communicating in the months before the bombing attempt, and sources say that at a minimum al-Awlaki was providing spiritual support. According to federal sources, over the year prior to the attack, Abdulmutallab intensified electronic communications with al-Awlaki.

Intelligence officials suspect al-Awlaki may have directed Abdulmutallab to Yemen for al-Qaeda training. One government source described intercepted "voice-to-voice communication" between the two during the fall of 2009, saying that al-Awlaki "was in some way involved in facilitating [Abdulmutallab]'s transportation or trip through Yemen. It could be training, a host of things."

Abdulmutallab reportedly told the FBI that al-Awlaki was one of his trainers when he underwent al-Qaeda training in remote camps in Yemen, and there were "informed reports" that Abdulmutallab met al-Awlaki during his final weeks of training and indoctrination prior to the attack. According to a U.S. intelligence official, intercepts and other information point to connections between the two:

Some of the information ... comes from Abdulmutallab, who ... said that he met with al-Awlaki and senior al-Qaeda members during an extended trip to Yemen this year, and that the cleric was involved in some elements of planning or preparing the attack and in providing religious justification for it. Other intelligence linking the two became apparent after the attempted bombing, including communications intercepted by the National Security Agency indicating that the cleric was meeting with "a Nigerian" in preparation for some kind of operation.

Yemen's Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs, Rashad Mohammed al-Alimi, said Yemeni investigators believe the suspect traveled in October to Shabwa, where he met with suspected al-Qaeda members in a house built by al-Awlaki and used by al-Awlaki to hold theological sessions, and that Abdulmutallab was trained and equipped there with his explosives. "If he went to Shabwa, for sure he would have met Anwar al-Awlaki," al-Alimi said. Al-Alimi also said he believed al-Awlaki is alive. A top Yemen government official said the two met with each other. And Abdul Elah al-Shaya, a Yemeni journalist, said a healthy al-Awlaki called him on December 28 and said that the Yemeni government's claims as to his death were "lies". Shaya declined to comment as to whether al-Awlaki had told him about any contacts he may have had with Abdulmutallab. According to Gregory Johnsen, a Yemeni expert at Princeton University, Shaya is generally reliable.

At the end of January 2010, a Yemeni journalist, Abdulelah Hider Sha’ea, said he met with al-Awlaki, who said he had met and spoken with Abdulmutallab in Yemen in the fall of 2009. Al-Awlaki also reportedly said Abdulmutallab was one of his students, that he supported what Abdulmutallab did but did not tell him to do it, and that he was proud of Abdulmutallab. A ''New York Times'' journalist listened to a digital recording of the meeting, and said that while the tape's authenticity could not be independently verified, the voice resembled that on other recordings of al-Awlaki.

Al-Awlaki released a tape in March 2010, in which he said, in part:

:To the American people ... nine years after 9/11, nine years of spending, and nine years of beefing up security you are still unsafe even in the holiest and most sacred of days to you, Christmas Day....

:Our brother Umar Farouk has succeeded in breaking through the security systems that have cost the U.S. government alone over 40 billion dollars since 9/11.

On April 6, 2010, ''The New York Times'' reported that President Obama had authorized the targeted killing of al-Awlaki.

Attack

On Christmas Day 2009, Abdulmutallab traveled from Ghana to Amsterdam, where he boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253 en route to Detroit. He had purchased his ticket with cash in Ghana on December 16. Eyewitnesses Kurt Haskell and Lori Haskell recounted live on CNN that, prior to boarding the plane, they witnessed a "smartly dressed Indian man" who spoke "in an American accent" helping Abdulmutallab onto the plane. They also testify that the ticket agent refused to allow Abdulmutallab on the plane because he did not have his own passport. These circumstances underlie some of the passengers' speculations that the U.S. government supplied a defective device to the perpetrator and a man in a tan suit with an American accent intervened, the matter was referred to a manager, and Abdulmutallab was then able to board the plane, presumably still without a passport. Such a defense and counterclaim will unlikely be played in Court as long as Abdulmutallab insists on undertaking his own defense, which some take as yet a further suggestion that Abdulmutallab is subject to manipulation.

Abdulmutallab spent about 20 minutes in the bathroom as the flight approached Detroit, and then covered himself with a blanket after returning to his seat. Other passengers then heard popping noises, smelled a foul odor, and some saw Abdulmutallab’s trouser leg and the wall of the plane on fire. Fellow passenger Jasper Schuringa, a Dutch film director, jumped on Abdulmutallab and subdued him as flight attendants used fire extinguishers to douse the flames. Abdulmutallab was taken toward the front of the airplane cabin, was seen to have lost his trousers due to the fire, and had burns on his legs. When asked by a flight attendant what he had in his pocket, he replied: “Explosive device.” The device consisted of a six-inch (15-cm) packet which was sewn into his underwear containing the explosive powder PETN, which became a plastic explosive when mixed with the high explosive triacetone triperoxide (TAPN) (the same two explosives that were used by Richard Reid in 2001), and a syringe containing liquid acid. Abdulmutallab created the explosive by mixing PETN with TAPN and other ingredients. If he did manage to blow the A330 up, it would have have surpassed the Pan Am 103 mid-air bombing in 1988.

After being taken into custody, Abdulmutallab told authorities he had been directed by al-Qaeda, and that he had obtained the device in Yemen. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the organization's affiliate in Yemen, subsequently claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as revenge for the United States' role in a Yemeni military offensive against al-Qaeda in that country.

Aftermath

Two days after the attack, Abdulmutallab was released from a hospital where he had been treated for first and second degree burns to his hands, and second degree burns to his right inner thigh and genitalia, sustained during the attempted bombing. Abdulmutallab, Federal Bureau of Prisons Register# 44107-039, is in Federal Correctional Institution, Milan, a federal prison in York Charter Township, Michigan.

New restrictions were imposed on U.S travelers, but the government was quiet about many of them because it "wanted the security experience to be 'unpredictable'". One day after she said that the system had "worked", Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano acknowledged that the aviation security system had indeed failed. President Barack Obama vowed that the U.S. government would track down all those responsible for the attack, and any attack being planned against the U.S. He also ordered a review of detection and watch list procedures. Saying that "totally unacceptable" systemic and human failures had occurred, Obama told reporters he was insisting on "accountability at every level," but did not give any details. Criticism of the system's failure to prevent Abdulmutallab from boarding the aircraft in the first place has been widespread; one critic, former FBI counterterrorism agent Ali Soufan, has said that it "should have been lighting up like a Christmas tree."

United States Senator Joe Lieberman called for the Obama administration to pre-emptively curb terrorism in Yemen and halt plans to repatriate Guantanamo detainees to Yemen. Peter Hoekstra and Congressional Representative Peter T. King also called for a halt to the repatriation of Guantanamo detainees from Yemen. Bennie Thompson, Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, called for a halt to all current plans with regard to Yemen in light of Abdulmutallab's ties there.

Immediately after the attack, Lateef Adegbite, Secretary General of Nigeria's Supreme Council for Islamic Affair, condemned the attack and said: "We are embarrassed by this incident and we strongly condemn the alleged action by this young man. We do not think that there is any organised Islamic group in Nigeria that is inclined to such a criminal and violent act. We condemn such an extreme viewpoint and action."

On December 27, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that Abdulmutallab's suspected ties to jihadists from Yemen could potentially complicate the Obama administration's plans to release Yemeni detainees held in Guantanamo to Yemen.

On January 27, 2010 the House Committee on Homeland Security continued a series of hearings across Capitol Hill that started prior to January 27, 2010, all looking into the events leading up to and after the attempted bombing of Flight 253 over Detroit. Patrick F. Kennedy, an undersecretary for management at the State Department, said Abdulmutallab's visa was not taken away because intelligence officials asked his agency not to deny a visa to the suspected terrorist over concerns that a denial would have foiled a larger investigation into al-Qaeda threats against the United States.

Reactions in the Muslim and Arabic-speaking media were mixed, from suspicion that it was a "set-up to lure the media and expand the scope and depth of a new chapter in the war on terror", to concerns that Nigerians would now be "unduly stigmatized."

Incarceration and trial

Abdulmutallab was charged on December 26, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, with two criminal counts: attempting to blow up and placing a destructive device on a U.S. civil aircraft. Additional charges were added in a grand jury indictment on January 6, 2010, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder of 289 people. He is incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution, Milan, Michigan, while awaiting further legal proceedings. If he is convicted on the charges, he will face a life sentence plus 90 years in prison.

Abdulmutallab initially cooperated with investigators, then stopped talking. The decision to read him his Miranda rights, advising him of his right to remain silent, generated criticism from a number of mostly Republican politicians. After the FBI brought two of Abdulmutallab's relatives from Nigeria to the U.S. to speak with him, he once again began to cooperate.

On 14 September 2010, the Associated Press reported Abdulmutallab had dismissed his court-appointed defense team in order to defend himself.

See also

Fort Hood shooting

Jihobbyist

Naser Jason Abdo

Michael Finton, American convert to Islam, attempted 2009 bombing of U.S. target with FBI agent he thought was al-Qaeda member

Sharif Mobley, American suspected al-Qaeda member, arrested in Yemen in 2010 and suspected of killing guard in escape attempt

Aafia Siddiqui, female alleged al-Qaeda member, former U.S. resident, convicted in 2010 of attempting to kill U.S. personnel

Bryant Neal Vinas, American convert to Islam, convicted in 2009 of participating in/supporting al-Qaeda plots in Afghanistan and the U.S.

Najibullah Zazi, al-Qaeda member, U.S. resident, pleaded guilty in 2010 of planning suicide bombings on New York City subway system

Operation Arabian Knight, 2010 arrest of two Muslim men from New Jersey on terrorism charges

Hasan Akbar case American Muslim convert convicted of the double-murder of two US Army officers.

References

External links

''Criminal Complaint and Affidavit for U.S. v. Abdulmutallab'', December 25, 2009

Indictment in U.S. v. Abdulmutallab, January 6, 2010

Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:Al-Qaeda members Category:Al-Qaeda bombers Category:Alumni of University College London Category:Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Nigerian Islamists Category:People from Lagos (city) Category:Perpetrators of religiously motivated violence in the United States Category:Failed terrorist attempts Category:People from Lomé Category:People from Kaduna Category:People from Sana'a Category:People from London Category:Nigerian prisoners and detainees Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Category:Anwar al-Awlaki Category:Islamist terrorism in the United States

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