illuminati symbol on Madonna's shirt

Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone on August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance. After performing as a member of the pop musical groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her self-titled debut album Madonna in 1983 on Sire Records.

A series of hit singles from her studio albums Like a Virgin (1984) and True Blue (1986) gained her global recognition, establishing her as a pop icon for pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Her recognition was augmented by the film Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) which widely became seen as a Madonna vehicle, despite her not playing the lead. Expanding on the use of religious imagery with Like a Prayer (1989), Madonna received positive critical reception for her diverse musical productions, while at the same time receiving criticism from religious conservatives and the Vatican. In 1992, Madonna founded the Maverick corporation, a joint venture between herself and Time Warner. The same year, she expanded the use of sexually explicit material in her work, beginning the release of the studio album Erotica, followed by the publishing of the coffee table book Sex, and starring in the erotic thriller Body of Evidence, all of which received negative responses from conservatives and liberals alike.

In 1996, Madonna played the starring role in the film Evita, for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Madonna’s seventh studio album Ray of Light (1998) became one of her most critically acclaimed, recognized for its lyrical depth. During the 2000s, Madonna released five studio albums, all of which reached top position on the Billboard 200. Departing from Warner Bros. Records, Madonna signed an unprecedented $120 million dollar contract with Live Nation in 2008.

Madonna is ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America as the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the second top-selling female artist in the U.S., with 63 million RIAA-certified albums; she has sold over 200 million albums worldwide. In 2007, Guinness World Records listed her as the world’s most successful female recording artist of all time, and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2008). Considered to be one of the most influential women in contemporary music, Madonna has been known for continually reinventing both her music and image and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry; she is recognized as an influence among numerous music artists.

Bird Man

Bryan Williams (born February 15, 1969), better known by his stage name Birdman or Baby, is an American rapper and record executive from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the founder of Cash Money Records and one half of the duo Big Tymers. Along with his releases with Big Tymers and for his solo career, Birdman recorded a collaboration album and numerous tracks with Lil Wayne.

Biography

Birdman was born and raised in Uptown New Orleans. With his brother Ronald “Slim” Williams, Birdman founded Cash Money Records in 1991. He used his first moniker B-32 (Baby with the 32 Golds) and released his only independent album I Need a Bag of Dope in 1993. In 1997, he joined rapper Mannie Fresh to form the duo Big Tymers. Big Tymers debuted in 1998 with the album How Ya Luv That? and went on to release I Got That Work in 2000 and Hood Rich in 2002. I Got That Work had the hit singles “Get Your Roll On” and “#1 Stunna”; Hood Rich had “Still Fly”, which was nominated for a Grammy, and “Oh Yeah!”. Big Money Heavyweight followed in 2003; the group disbanded in 2004.

In 2002 Birdman released his self-titled debut studio album, Birdman,^[3] with the singles “Do That” and “What Happened to That Boy” (with The Clipse). Since that album, Birdman made guest performances on the singles “Let’s Get Down” by Bow Wow, “Hell Yeah” by Ginuwine, and “Bounce Back” by Juvenile. Birdman released his third studio album Fast Money in 2005; Fast Money spawned the singles “Shine On” and “Neck of the Woods”, both of which featured Lil Wayne. For Lil Wayne, Birdman produced and performed on tracks on Tha Carter and Tha Carter II.

Lil Wayne and Birdman released an album titled Like Father, Like Son. It was certified Gold and spawned three singles, including “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy” and “Leather So Soft”. He was also featured on the remixes of the bestselling rap singles “We Fly High” by Jim Jones and “Make It Rain” by Fat Joe. In 2007 Birdman released his fourth studio album, 5 * Stunna. The first single, “Pop Bottles,” featuring Lil Wayne and Jadakiss, was a hit, as well as the second single “100 Million,” which featured Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Dre & DJ Khaled. The third single featuring Lil Wayne, titled “I Run This,” was a hit as well. Birdman was arrested and charged with possession of more than two ounces of marijuana in November 2007. He was released on $1,500 bond.

Birdman will release an album with long time friend Rick Ross titled The H. The first song released off the album was “Sun Come Up,” which featured T-Pain and Glasses Malone. He has also made a cameo appearance in Kevin Rudolf’s “Let It Rock” music video.

Birdman’s first single from his upcoming album Pricele$$ will be “Always Strapped”, featuring Lil Wayne, and the second will be “Written on Her,” featuring Jay Sean. “South Side” featuring Lil Wayne is the third single. “Money to Blow” featuring Drake and Lil Wayne is the fourth single.

Discography

• Birdman (2002)
• Fast Money (2005)
• 5 * Stunna (2007)
• Pricele$$ (2009)

Collaboration albums

• 1999: How You Luv That (with Mannie Fresh as Big Tymers)
• 1999: How You Luv That Vol. 2 (with Mannie Fresh as Big Tymers)
• 2000: I Got That Work (with Mannie Fresh as Big Tymers)
• 2002: Hood Rich (with Mannie Fresh as Big Tymers)
• 2003: Big Money Heavyweight (with Mannie Fresh as Big Tymers)
• 2006: Like Father, Like Son (with Lil Wayne)
• 2010: The H (with Rick Ross)

Filmography

• 2000: Baller Blockin

Lil Wayne currently producing music with Cash Money Records

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American Grammy Award-winning rapper. Formerly a member of the rap group the Hot Boys, he joined the Cash Money Records collective as a teenager. Get It How U Live!, released in 1997, was Lil Wayne’s first album with Hot Boys, and Tha Block Is Hot, his solo debut, came out in 1999.

After gaining fame with two other albums in the early 2000s, Lil Wayne reached higher popularity with 2004’s Tha Carter and its two subsequent albums Tha Carter II (2005) and Tha Carter III (2008). He earned various accolades following Tha Carter III, including eight Grammy Awards nominations. He has had two number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 (“Lollipop” with Static Major and “Down” with Jay Sean). He will release a rock album titled Rebirth in 2009.

Jonathan Smith a.k.a Lil Jon

Jonathan Smith (born January 27, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American composer, producer, promoter, and rapper. He is best known as a pioneer of the hip hop sub-genre crunk. His work is recognizable by his distinctive hype shouts of “What?!”,”Hey!”, “Yeah!”, and “Okay!”, which have earned him a part as a regular character in the repertoire of popular comedian Dave Chappelle.

Early life

Lil Jon was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from Douglass High School (Georgia) in 1989. He worked for So So Def between 1993 and 2000, which is where he got his stage name.

Lil Jon is a big fan of Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL and writes a blog on NHL.com. He has also stated on the blog that his son plays hockey. Atlanta Thrashers goalie Kari Lehtonen also has a picture of Lil Jon on the back of his helmet. He also has his own energy drink, called CRUNK!!!, his own line of Oakley Sunglasses, his own brand of wine, Little Jonathan Winery, which produces a Merlot, a Chardonnay, and a Cabernet Sauvignon.

Career

Lil Jon says that he is a full time rapper and “was inspired by the synthesizer sounds of rave/dance music he heard playing in Atlanta strip clubs.”

In 2006 before recording the album, Crunk Rock Lil Jon severed his negotiation with record label TVT. Two years ago, Jon vowed never to record for TVT Records again, alleging that TVT owner Steve Gottlieb was shortchanging him.

Jon said in a statement: “Crunk Rock is going to be some next level shit.” As part of TVT Records’ 2008 bankruptcy auction, Lil Jon withdrew his multi-million dollar objection to the TVT sale proceedings and agreed to TVT’s transfer of his artist agreement to The Orchard. In return, The Orchard released Lil Jon from all future obligations and returned the rights to the master recordings of his constantly delayed LP, Crunk Rock.

Beyonce Giselle Knowles

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981), often referred to mononymously as Beyoncé (pronounced /biˈjɒn.seɪ/), is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and model. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny’s Child. According to Sony, Knowles record and musical DVD sales, when combined with the group, have surpassed 100 million in sales.

During the hiatus of Destiny’s Child, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love (2003), which became one of the most successful albums of that year, and signaled her viability as a solo artist. The album was a commercial and critical success, spawning the hits “Crazy in Love”, “Baby Boy”, and earning Knowles five Grammy Awards in 2004. The disbanding of Destiny’s Child in 2005 facilitated her continued success: her sophomore solo album, B’Day, released in 2006, debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, and produced the hits “Déjà Vu”, “Irreplaceable”, and “Beautiful Liar”. Her third solo album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, was released in November 2008, and included the hits “If I Were a Boy”, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”, “Halo” and “Sweet Dreams”. Knowles has attained five Hot 100 number one singles, becoming one of the two female artists with the most number ones attained within the 2000s. She is also the female with the most top five hits with twelve, top ten hits with thirteen and most top forty with eighteen (a record she now shares with Taylor Swift).

The success of her solo albums has established Knowles as one of the most marketable artists in the music industry, and she has expanded her career to acting and product endorsement. She began her acting career in 2001, appearing in the musical film Carmen: A Hip Hopera. In 2006, she starred in the lead role in the film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls, for which she earned two Golden Globe nominations. Knowles launched her family’s fashion line, House of Deréon, in 2004, and has been engaged to endorse such brands as Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, Armani and L’Oréal. In 2009, Forbes listed Knowles fourth on its list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential Celebrities in the world, third on its list of the top-grossing musicians, and number one on the list of top Best-Paid Celebs Under 30 with over $87 million dollars in earnings between 2008 and 2009.

Kenye Omari West

Kanye Omari West (born June 8, 1977) is an American singer/rapper. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, and his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008. His first three albums (and his fourth to a lesser extent) have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. All have been very commercially successful, with 808s & Heartbreak becoming his third consecutive #1 album in the U.S. upon release. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music. West’s mascot and trademark is “Dropout Bear,” a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of three of his four albums as well as various single covers and music videos.

West gained fame by producing 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 albums saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences ranging from ’70s R&B, to synth-pop, and classical music.

About.com ranked Kanye West #8 on their “Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers” list. On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year’s #1 “Hottest MC in the Game.”

Jayz representing illuminati sign

Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), better known by his stage name, Jay-Z is an American hip hop artist and businessman. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $150 million, shipping over 30 million copies of his albums in the United States alone and receiving several Grammy Awards for his musical work.

Jay-Z co-owns The 40/40 Club and the NBA’s New Jersey Nets and is also the creator of the clothing line Rocawear. He is the former CEO of Def Jam Recordings, one of the three founders of Roc-A-Fella Records and recently, the founder of his new venture Roc Nation. He is also the current holder for the record of most number one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200.

Along with his financial and musical success, Jay-Z is known for being involved in the feud between him and fellow New York rapper Nas, which was eventually settled in 2005. He married singer Beyoncé Knowles on April 4, 2008.