Kid Cudi Biography

Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi or stage name, Kid Cudi was born on January 30th, 1984 and grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland. Cudi is now known as an influential hip-hop artist but before his life as an artist he grew up with a loving mother and father who were both hard workers. His mother was a middle school choir teacher, while his father was a World War II veteran who also was a substitute teacher for some time. By the age of eleven his father had tragically died from cancer, which would eventually change Scott’s whole outlook on life and his music to come in the future. After his father’s death he went to Shaker Heights High School and later transferred to Solon High School where he would eventually earn his GED. After a year of studying film at The University of Toledo, Cudi decided to drop out and pursue his musical career. By 2008, Kid Cudi had released his first mixtape entitled, A Kid Named Cudi, which would later grab the attention of Kanye West (singer/ songwriter). From there Kid Cudi had signed his first record deal with GOOD Music. Since then he has appeared on on a couple of Kanye’s tracks in which he was said to be an “artist to watch.” His first television appearance was at the 2008 MTV Music awards and was one of the highlights of his young career. By 2009, Cudi had really started to become recognized as an artist when he released his debut album with GOOD Music Record Label called, “Man on the Moon.” This album included music with a very “laid back” tone and really caught his audiences’ attention. The release of his album helped him receive a lot of publicity for his single, “Day ‘n’ Night” that hit the radios in 2009. His album sold over 100,000 copies its first week in sales and Cudi was looking forward to the next best thing the year after. In 2010, he released his second album and second of the Man on the Moon series entitled, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager which has not yet published its sales. As you can see, Cudi overcame the hardships throughout his life and reinvented himself as a great artist.

Wiz Khalifa Biography

Cameron Jabril Thomaz, better known as “Wiz Khalifa,” has earned himself a spot as a mainstream artist today. But who was Cameron Jabril Thomaz, before recognized as Wiz Khalifa? It’s as simple as he was just another kid brought up in Minot, North Dakota and was born on September 8th, 1987. Wiz did not remain in North Dakota for long. By the age of three, Wiz’s parents had split up and he had to deal with the difficulty of both parents serving in the military. They both went their separate ways which caused Cameron to move several times globally, throughout the course of his childhood. He lived in Germany, England, and Japan before he finally settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he would eventually attend school at Taylor Allderdice High School. Following the move to Pittsburgh, Wiz started to become more involved with hip-hop and was dedicated to becoming a star. By age fifteen, he created a stage name for himself that was originally, “Wisdom Khalifa.” Soon after developing the name he shortened the “Wisdom” to just plain old “Wiz.” In an interview conducted, he explained the reasoning behind his name. The term “Khalifa,” means “successor” in Arabic; and also stated that he was always called “Young Wiz” because he was good at everything that he did. By his sophomore year in High School, he released his first mix tape entitled, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvani (2005). The following year, the mix tape helped lead to the creation of his very first album called, Show and Prove. As an unsigned artist, the album received much more publicity than expected and proved Wiz’s ability. Later that year, Wiz was recognized as an “upcoming artist to watch.” 2007 was a big year for Wiz as it was the year he graduated and also was signed to Warner Bros. Records. By November of 2007, Wiz released yet another mix tape titled, Prince of the City 2 which also helped his cause as an up and coming artist. In 2008, Wiz gained national recognition as he released the single, “Say Yeah” which earned him top spots on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 along with a number 20 spot on Billboard’s Hot Rap Tracks. In 2009, he left Warner Bros. Records due to the delay of his debut album with the label. Soon after his departure from the label, he joined Rostrum Records. Since joining the label he has released two mix tapes and one album that included many different styles of rapping. Yet again, in 2010, he signed with a new record label, Atlantic Records. Soon after his signing with the Label he released another single that appeared on radio stations all over the country entitled, “Black and Yellow.” Wiz is on the up rise in the music industry and despite his struggles through his childhood, he has still managed to stick with his first love, rap.

Lil Wayne Biography

Dwayne Michael Carter, more commonly known as, "Lil Wayne," is a hip-hop icon and has become very popular over the last decade. Before he was known as, Lil Wayne, he was just another kid in New Orleans, Louisiana. He and his mother, Jacinda Carter were both abandoned by his father, Dwayne Michael Turner, when Lil Wayne was two. Throughout school, Lil Wayne was always a straight-A student and always applied in the classroom. By eleven, Lil Wayne was signed to the Cash Money Records label by owner, Bryan “Baby” Williams. At fourteen, Lil Wayne dropped out of school to pursue his music career. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk. In 1999, Lil Wayne released his debut album "The Block is Hot" which would eventually sell over one million copies in the United States. Wayne would not stop there, after releasing The Block is Hot, he then released two albums entitled, "Lights Out" (2000) and "500 Degrees" (2002). Although both of the albums were not as successful, he still earned gold status. By 2004, Lil Wayne's career was on the up-rise as he released albums entitled "Tha Carter, Tha Carter II (2005) and eventually Tha Carter III (2008), which would turn out to be his most successful album. Tha Carter III sold one million copies in its first week and topped the charts as the number one Rap Album of 2008. After his release of Tha Carter III, Wayne really began to gain the recognition he deserved. He was now being recognized as a mainstream artist and the fans wanted more. So in the beginning of 2010, Lil Wayne decided to show his rocker side with the release of his new album entitled, Rebirth. But this new album was much different compared to his others; it was something that Lil Wayne had never done before and really shocked his fans. Instead of spitting his lyrics over “hip-hop like beats,” this time he decided to demonstrate his talent behind the strings of a guitar. Although the album was not as successful The Carter III, it received much publicity and it gave fans the chance to see a different side of Wayne. His most recent album that he released, I Am Not A Human Being (2010), also had much success and publicity considering the fact that it was released during his time in prison. Only two artists ever, related to rap/ hip-hop, have released albums during imprisonment, Lil Wayne being one of them; the other being Tupac. His next album to come, The Carter VI, has been highly anticipated and the date of its release is still unknown. Wayne promises to go multi-platinum upon the release of Tha Carter VI, and plans to continue his successful ways. Clearly, Lil Wayne has proved himself to be one of the elite artists in the rap/ hip-hop game, and has become a national icon.

Being a little guy

I wish I was still a kid. Today it seems like there is so much more stress than there was when I just a “kid.” I mean when I was in middle school we pretty much had a class day off when there was any sort of holiday. I also remember having snack time which was also pretty sweet. It seemed like all the way up to fifth grade was a relaxed environment. Once I had hit sixth grade there was no more snack time, nap time, or story time. I miss that stuff. It was a time to take off from school and just have some leisure time to you and your friends. Now that I am in high school there is so much pressure especially now that I am in my senior year. Through high school I have felt pressured by friends, teachers and a lot more than usual by my parents. I was expected to do good in school and my parents really did not want to have to worry. Also in high school there are pressures like doing sports, keeping your friends and staying away from drugs and alcohol. When I was in the primary and intermediate school, it seemed as if none of those things even existed. And now that I am in my senior year I have to face even more pressures like: SATs, getting good grades, deciding on a college, staying home or leaving, and getting accepted to a college. Being little was really the best. Every day I used to go to Alex Blood’s house and just play. I was never busy or had to go to work instead. Even preschool was awesome. We had our own carpets that we took naps on and even played duck-duck-goose. So all-in-all it was pretty raw.

Super Bowl Sunday

We are getting closer to that Sunday that every football fan cherishes and waits a year to see. That’s right; I’m talking about Super bowl Sunday. Many groups of people throughout the United States host Super bowl parties and celebrate by eating a smorgasbord of food and creating the infamous Super bowl pool. Usually, every year I have something different to do on Super bowl Sunday. The last couple years I have gone to a friend’s house and watched the game. But the one thing that never really changes is the massive amount of food that there is. There is always many different kinds of chip dips that are made and also many other snacks that are laid out. It is also nice because it is almost like a national holiday where every one of either your family members or even some of your friends can spend time together and watch the world’s greatest sport. Although neither of the teams are ever the Bills, it is still nice to have so much excitement towards one game throughout the season and have a chance to pick a different favorite other than my own hometown team. Another favorite part about Super bowl Sunday is all of the commercials that air on television throughout the span of the game. You always hear people talking about the game the day after and always talking about the commercials too. I always like hearing about how the team that won the Super bowl is celebrating with their town like the Saints did last year. Games that are close are the ones that really grab my attention because if the game is a blowout or low-scoring it makes the game less exciting. I always look forward to the game and the team that comes through in the end is always the best.

Social Networking

Social networking has somewhat had an impact on my life as far as communicating goes. When I think of social networking, the first thing that comes to mind is Facebook. Facebook basically gives me the opportunity to see what other people are doing outside of school or any upcoming events. I am hardly ever on Facebook compared to the average teen I believe; but when I do go on, I am uploading photos, updating my status, or maybe even commenting on other statuses, photos, or topics that I can view. Facebook also gives me an opportunity to talk to my friends and family that I may not normally see or hear from. Nowadays I see a lot of high school students cyber-bullying or doing whatever it is that they do and I just try to avoid that stuff. Facebook has proven to be just another way that high school drama can carry outside of school. I have seen many news specials in which cyber-bullying takes place and it. Another form of social networking that I rarely use is e-mail. I currently have a yahoo account that is in use but I actually never use it. My yahoo account makes it easy for colleges to contact me and also makes it so that I can send pictures to my account from my phone. Not only has social networking become a hobby, but it has also become a way of life for many. Teens that stay home on the weekends or do not do anything on weekdays, can sit on the computer for hours at a time. For example, whenever I was grounded I would still use the computer to communicate with my friends or keep myself occupied. Social networking has had a major impact on not only me but almost every teen in America.

My Favorite Things

I am a very outgoing person and I also do not really care what people think about me or what I do which is why I like a lot of things. For example I like any kind of music. My favorite type of music is rap or hip-hop. My favorite artists include: Lil Wayne, Kid Cudi and Wiz Khalifa . The reason why I like their music so much is because a lot of their songs are “laid-back.” Rather than listening to artists like Pink Floyd and Grateful Dead, who also have “chill” music, I do not like it because much of it has no flow and the lyrics have no meaning to me. I also like Lil Wayne, Kid Cudi and Wiz Khalifa because they all have very similar outlooks on life compared to me. Another thing that I like is playing sports. With sports, it’s like a whole other world to me. Sports are a way for me to get away from things and enjoy myself. Not only does it help me get away from anything that I may be having problems with, but it helps build bonds with people that you may not normally talk to. It kind of makes you create a relationship with other teammates or someone you may not hang out with normally. Other than sports, another thing I love to do is hang out with my friends. During the summer and weekends I am hardly ever home and it is always because I’m keeping myself occupied with friends. My friends and I have had a lot of good memories and I can always count on them for whatever it is. There have been several instances where I have had a friend come through for me when I need it. Other favorite things of mine include: fettuccine alfredo with chicken, watching sportscenter and doing things out of the ordinary.