Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll

Who Is Shakira?

Born in Colombia on February 2, 1977, hugely successfully Colombian pop singer and dancer Shakira has won multiple Grammy, Latin Grammy and American Music Awards. Known for hits like "Whenever, Wherever" and "Hips Don't Lie," Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, with estimates of more than 70 million albums sold worldwide. Additionally, she has served as a judge on the popular singing-competition show The Voice.

Early Life and Career

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on February 2, 1977, in Barranquilla, Colombia. With a Lebanese father and Colombian mother, Shakira honors both her Latino and Arabic heritage in her music. She wrote her first song at the age of 8 and signed her first record deal at 13.

After her first two albums flopped, Shakira took the reins of her third album, becoming involved in every aspect of its production. Released in 1996, Pies Descalzos, meaning "bare feet," sold more than 3 million copies. The album featured her trademark sound, a blend of Latin, rock and Arabic musical styles. Her follow-up record, Dónde Están Los Ladrones? (1998), which translates as "Where are the thieves?", reached the top of Billboard's Latin charts. Not long after, Shakira won her first Grammy Award (best Latin pop album) for Shakira: MTV Unplugged(2000).

With the success of her albums, Shakira became a music superstar in the Spanish-language markets, known for her strong vocals and incredible hip-shaking belly dance moves.

International Stardom

While hugely popular throughout much of the rest of the world, Shakira had not yet achieved a major record on the U.S. pop charts. In an attempt to increase her American fan base, in 1997, at the age of 20, the singer moved with her family to Miami, Florida, and taught herself to write songs in English. There, she enlisted Emilio Estefan, of Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine fame, to act as her manager and producer.

In 2001, Shakira released her first English-language album, Laundry Service, which quickly brought her the success in the United States she had been waiting for. The album reached No. 3 on the charts, selling more than 200,000 copies in its first week of release. Laundry Service's big hits included "Whenever, Wherever" and "Underneath Your Clothes."

Shakira returned to the Top 10 of the albums chart twice in 2005. She released the Spanish-language Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 in June of that year, followed by the English-language Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 in November. Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 garnered Shakira her second Grammy, this time for best Latin rock/alternative album.

Touring extensively, Shakira went on to release two concert albums: 2007's Liveand 2008's Oral Fixation Tour. In July 2009, she put out a new single, "She Wolf," from her studio album of the same name. The album hit No. 15 on the Billboard charts in 2009, and went platinum in 2010. Around the same time, her hit "Waka Waka" from 2010's Sale el Sol became the theme song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Shortly thereafter, the now-global superstar headed on tour to promote her album. By January 2016, the video for "Waka Waka" had been viewed more than a billion times. 

By 2012, Shakira's U.S. album sales had reached nearly 10 million and her worldwide album sales had reached more than 70 million. She is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, and the second most successful female Latin singer after Gloria Estefan. In March 2014, Shakira released a self-titled studio album. The album includes a song with Voice co-star and country singer Blake Shelton. The same year, she took her signature grooves to the global stage again when she closed out the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

'The Voice' and 'El Dorado'

In late 2012, Shakira was confirmed as a judge/coach on NBC's popular singing-competition show The Voice. Along with R&B singer-songwriter Usher, Shakira made her Voice debut on the show's season 4 premiere, which aired on March 25, 2013. Replacing Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green, Shakira and Usher joined returning judges/coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. "Usher and Shakira are coming into it as a big frickin' institution," Levine said in late 2012, according to The Huffington Post. "So it's different, but it still feels good, because they're legitimate artists."

Shakira quickly became popular with TV audiences. Although both she and Usher left The Voice after the season to make room for the return of Aguilera and Green, the season 4 newcomers were back again as judges for season 6.

Meanwhile, the Latin superstar continued working on her music. In October 2016, she dropped a new single, "Chantaje," from her upcoming album, El Dorado. Upon its May 2017 release, El Dorado revealed a tracklist comprised almost entirely of songs sung in Spanish. True to form, the album went multi-platinum for the Latin singer, who announced plans for a tour in June.

Unfortunately, the tour didn't go as planned. Shortly before her scheduled November 8 performance in Cologne, Germany, Shakira canceled the concert because of strained vocal cords. Although she was hopeful of recovering in time for a November 10 show in Paris, she apologetically canceled that one and subsequent dates as well.

“I’m anxious to get back on stage and be at 100% for all of you,” she wrote on Twitter. “I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for all the support you’ve shown me these days and which has helped keep me afloat in what has been a difficult time. God willing we will see each other soon for the kickoff of my tour.”  

Personal Life

Outside of her busy career, Shakira created the Pies Descalzos Foundation to help children in her native Colombia receive a quality education. She is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and was honored by the United Nations' International Labor Organization for her philanthrophic efforts in 2010.

Shakira is in a relationship with Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué. The couple welcomed their first child together on January 22, 2013. They named their son Milan, which means "dear, loving and gracious" in Slavic; "eager and laborious" in Ancient Roman; and "unification" in Sanskrit, according to a statement on Shakira's website. In August 2014, the couple announced she was pregnant again. Their second son, Sasha, was born on January 29, 2015.

Shakira previously dated Antonio de la Rua, son of former Argentine President Fernando de la Rua. In April 2013, de la Rua made headlines when he sued the Latin songstress for $250 million, charging that he had helped create some of his ex's hit songs as well as the "Shakira brand."

Carlos Santana is leader of the guitar

Mexican-American award-winning guitarist Carlos Santana is leader of Santana, a band whose music uniquely blends Latin-infused rock, jazz, blues, salsa and African rhythms.

Synopsis

Born on July 20, 1947, in Autlán de Navarro, Mexico, Carlos Santana moved to San Francisco in the early 1960s, where he formed the Santana Blues Band in 1966. The band, later simply known as Santana, signed a contract with Columbia Records, with Carlos becoming the consistent front man. Throughout the 1970s and early '80s, Santana released a string of successful albums such as Abraxas, Lotusand Amigos, making a big comeback in 1999 with the Grammy-winning Supernatural. In 2009, he received a Billboard Lifetime Achievement Award and several years later became a Kennedy Center Honors recipient. More recent albums have included Corazón and Santana IV.

Background and Early Life

Musician Carlos Santana was born on July 20, 1947, in Autlán de Navarro, Mexico. His father, Jose, was an accomplished professional violinist, and as a child Carlos learned to play the instrument from his father, though he ultimately didn't enjoy the tones he created. He would eventually take up the electric guitar, for which he developed an ardent passion.

In 1955, the family moved from Autlán de Navarro to Tijuana, the border city between Mexico and California. As a teenager, Santana began performing in Tijuana strip clubs, inspired by the American rock & roll and blues music of artists like B.B. King, Ray Charles and Little Richard. In the early 1960s, Santana moved again with his family, this time to San Francisco, where his father had already relocated to find work. Carlos became a naturalized American citizen in 1965.

In San Francisco, the young guitarist got the chance to see his idols, most notably King, perform live. He was also introduced to a variety of new musical influences, including jazz and international folk music, and witnessed the growing hippie movement centered in San Francisco in the 1960s. After several years spent working as a dishwasher in a diner and playing for spare change on the streets, Santana decided to become a full-time musician. In 1966, he formed the Santana Blues Band, with fellow street musicians David Brown and Gregg Rolie (bassist and keyboard player, respectively).

Big Hits: "Oye Como Va" and "Black Magic Woman" 

With their highly original blend of Latin-infused rock, jazz, blues, salsa and African rhythms, the band—which quickly became known simply as Santana—gained an immediate following on the San Francisco club scene. The band's early success, capped off by a memorable performance at Woodstock in 1969, led to a recording contract with Columbia Records, then run by Clive Davis.

Their first album, Santana (1969), spurred by a Top 10 single, "Evil Ways," went triple platinum, selling more than four million copies and remaining on the Billboard charts for more than two years. Abraxas, released in 1970, went platinum, scoring two more Top 20 hit singles, "Oye Como Va" and "Black Magic Woman." The band's next two albums, Santana III (1971) and Caravanserai (1972), were also critical and popular successes.

As the band's personnel changed frequently, Santana (the band) came to be associated almost exclusively with Santana himself—who soon became the only remaining member of the original trio—and his psychedelic guitar riffs. In addition to his work with his band, Santana recorded and performed with a number of other high-profile musicians, notably drummer Buddy Miles, pianist Herbie Hancock and guitarist John McLaughlin.

Along with McLaughlin, Santana became a devoted follower of the spiritual guru Sri Chimnoy during the early 1970s. Disillusioned with the heady, drug-addled world of 1970s rock music, Santana turned to Chimnoy's teachings of meditation and to a new kind of spiritually-oriented music, marked by a popular jazz album he recorded with McLaughlin entitled Love Devotion Surrender and released in early 1973.

Grammy Win and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Santana and his band released a string of successful albums in their unique style. Notable projects of this time period included Amigos (1976) and Zebop! (1981). During the 1980s, he continued to tour and record both solo and with the band, but his popularity began to decrease with commercial audiences dwindling interest in jazz/rock blends.

Nevertheless, Santana earned critical acclaim throughout the decade, particularly for the 1987 solo album Blues for Salvador, which earned the guitarist his first Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Performance. He toured extensively, playing in sold out auditoriums and on tours like LiveAid (1985) and Amnesty International (1986).

Santana left Columbia in 1991 and signed with Polydor, releasing Milagro (1992) and Sacred Fire: Live in South America (1993). Though he ended his association with Chimnoy in 1982, Santana remained intensely spiritual, especially during his live performances. In 1994, he played at the commemorative concert at Woodstock, 25 years after his band's transformative performance at the original festival. Under his own label, Guts and Grace, he released a collaborative album, Brothers (1994), with his brother Jorge Santana and nephew Carlos Hernandez, that was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental. Later in the decade, Santana was among the 1998 group of artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Michael McDonald story the top

McDonald was recruited by the rock band the Doobie Brothers in April 1975, initially as a temporary replacement for their lead vocalist Tom Johnston after he had become ill during a national tour,^[4] but his work with the band proved so successful that they decided to retain him as a full-time member.

As a member of the Doobie Brothers, McDonald sang the lead vocals on some of the band's best-known songs such as "Real Love", "Takin' It to the Streets", "Little Darling (I Need You)", "It Keeps You Runnin'", "Minute by Minute", and "What a Fool Believes" (which became a No. 1 single in the U.S. and earned him a 1980 Grammy Award for Song of the Year along with co-writer Kenny Loggins). At the same time, McDonald appeared as a session vocalist and keyboardist for various artists, including Christopher Cross, Stephen Bishop, Jack Jones, Bonnie Raitt, the rock band Toto and Kenny Loggins. McDonald co-wrote "You Belong to Me" with Carly Simon, which appeared on the album Livin' on the Fault Line.^[11]

McDonald reunited as a guest performer with the Doobie Brothers several times since the band's initial dissolution in 1982.^[10]He re-teamed with the Doobie Brothers for the track "Don't Say Goodbye" on the band's thirteenth studio album, World Gone Crazy.^[12] In March 2014, he reunited with the Doobie Brothers to record a brand-new album featuring the greatest hits of the Doobies' 40-plus-year career. This project was completed in conjunction with Sony Music Nashville. On the album, McDonald shares lead vocals with Sara Evans for "What a Fool Believes", Love and Theft for "Takin' it to the Streets", and Amanda Sudano-Ramirez for "You Belong to Me". The album, titled Southbound, was released on November 4, 2014, as the Doobie Brothers' fourteenth studio album.

On November 5, 2014, McDonald and the Doobie Brothers were featured musical guests on the 47th annual CMA Awards to celebrate the release of Southbound. They were joined by Hunter Hayes, Jennifer Nettles and Hillary Scott in their performance of "Listen to the Music." At the end of the awards ceremony, they were also joined by host Brad Paisley for "Takin' It to the Streets".

After the Doobie Brothers' first farewell tour, McDonald released his first solo studio album, If That's What It Takes, in 1982 on the label Warner Bros.^[13] The album featured the hit singles "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)", a duet with his sisters Kathy and Maureen, and "I Gotta Try", a song co-written with Kenny Loggins, who also recorded in that same year for his fourth album High Adventure.

He continued to collaborate with other artists during this period. McDonald co-wrote Van Halen's Top 20 hit "I'll Wait", from their biggest-selling album 1984. "Yah Mo B There", a duet with James Ingram, won the 27th Annual Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.^[14] In 1985, he released his second studio album No Lookin' Back, which for the first time, he co-produced, as well as wrote or co-wrote all of the tracks and featured a minor hit with the title-track, co-written by Kenny Loggins. By June 1986, the album had met little success, but McDonald then had a huge boost with the release of the single "Sweet Freedom", which appeared on the soundtrack to the Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines film Running Scared, and was McDonald's last Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The No Lookin' Back album was then re-released in some markets with the new hit single included, as well as a few songs remixed. The single "On My Own", a duet 

with Patti LaBelle, reached No. 1 on the U.S. charts in 1986. Later that year, he would perform as a backing vocalist on Toto's album Fahrenheit, appearing on the hit single "I'll Be Over You", as well its accompanying video. On August 22, 1986, McDonald appeared in an episode of The Young and the Restless.^[15][16] Also in 1987, McDonald did a featured collaboration with gospel quartet the Winans from their Decisions album titled "Love Has No Color".

In 1990, McDonald released his third studio album, Take It to Heart, which featured a minor hit with the title-track, co-written by Diane Warren. The following year he joined the New York Rock and Soul Revue,^[17] put together by Steely Dan's lead vocalist Donald Fagen and featuring other artists such as Boz Scaggs and Phoebe Snow. In 1991, he released the single "Ever Changing Times", a duet with Aretha Franklin.

In 1999, McDonald recorded the song "Eyes of a Child" for the South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, which is a comedic ballad written by Trey Parker. It was also used at the ending credits for the movie. The same year, he sang backing vocals on the Warren Brothers' single "Better Man", from their album Beautiful Day in the Cold Cruel World.^[18] He also provided lead vocals for one of three studio tracks on Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert.

In 2003, he earned two Grammy nominations for his album Motown, a tribute to the Motown sound. A year later, Motown Two was released. Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewinestated, "The album follows the same blueprint as the first record, offering highly polished, professionally produced, expertly performed interpretations of gems from the Motown vaults."^[19]

In 2008, McDonald released his album Soul Speak, which includes three new songs penned by McDonald, and covers of songs by Dionne Warwick ("Walk On By"), Stevie Wonder("Living for the City"), Van Morrison ("Into the Mystic"), Tyrone Davis ("Baby Can I Change My Mind") and others.^[20]

In 2000, McDonald, along with partners Chris Pelonis and actor Jeff Bridges, founded the independent recording label Rampe St. Louis Walk of Fame.^[21] McDonald recorded a duet with Ray Charles on Charles' 2004 Genius Loves Company. In 2007, McDonald helped judge the sixth annual Independent Music Awards.^[22] In 2006, McDonald sang as a guest singer in the jazz quartet Fourplay from the album X, in a cover of Steve Winwood's song "My Love's Leavin'".^[23]

In 2009, McDonald, along with the West Angeles COGIC Mass Choir, released the song "Storm Before the Calm" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day.^[24] McDonald also contributed an alternate lead vocal track for "While You Wait for the Others", a single by the indie rock band Grizzly Bear, which released as a 7-inch single.^[25]

In December 2009, McDonald donated his performance to Keep the Beat in Santa Barbara, California, where he played to a capacity crowd at the newly renovated Granada Theater. Harry Rabin, producer and head of Keep the Beat, an initiative of the Santa Barbara Education Foundation, produced the show, including two video productions and worked with student choral groups from primary and secondary schools as well as a brass section so they could perform in the show with McDonald and his band.^[26]

In 2009, McDonald appeared on the satirical television sitcom 30 Rock as one of the benefit singers in the season finale episode "Kidney Now!".^[27] McDonald performed the national anthem before the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl between the Boise State Broncos and TCU Horned Frogs at the University of Phoenix Stadium on January 4, 2010 in Glendale, Arizona.^[28]McDonald sang "Takin' It to the Streets" on the American Idol, season nine finale, in 2010.^[29]

In 2010, McDonald teamed up again with Donald Fagen and Boz Scaggs to form The Dukes of September. In June 2012, the supergroup performed on Late Night With Jimmy Fallonto promote their tour. The group also played at Lincoln Center, a performance which was then broadcast as a PBS special and later released on DVD.

In 2013, McDonald settled a $500,000 breach-of-contract suit (out of court) with Warner Music over underpayment of royalties of online sales.^[30] In the summer of 2014, he co-headlined a U.S. tour with the band Toto.^[31]

In 2017, McDonald was featured together with Kenny Loggins on Thundercat's single "Show You the Way", included on the latter's album Drunk.^[32] In June 2017, McDonald, Loggins and Thundercat performed the song together on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.^[33]

Hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur

Hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur was embroiled in a feud between East Coast and West Coast rappers and was murdered in a drive-by shooting in 1996, leaving behind an influential musical legacy at the age of 25.
Who Was Tupac Shakur?
Tupac’s Death
Is Tupac Alive?
Tupac’s Albums and Songs
'2Pacalypse Now'
'Strictly 4 My Niggaz'
'Me Against the World'
'All Eyez on Me'
'How Do U Want It'
'Don Killuminati: The Seven Day Theory'

Tupac Shakur (June 16, 1971 to September 13, 1996) was an American rapper and actor who came to embody the 1990s gangsta-rap aesthetic and in death became an icon symbolizing noble struggle. He has sold 75 million albums to date, making him one of the top-selling artists of all time. A sensitive, precociously talented and troubled soul, Tupac was gunned down in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996 and died six days later. His murder has never been solved. Tupac began his music career as a rebel with a cause to articulate the travails and injustices endured by many African-Americans. His skill in doing so made him a spokesperson not just for his own generation but for subsequent ones who continue to face the same struggle for equality. In life, his biggest battle was sometimes with himself. As fate drove him towards the nihilism of gangsta rap, and into the arms of the controversial Death Row Records impresario Suge Knight, the boundaries between Shakur's art and his life became increasingly blurred — with tragic consequences. 

Tupac died on September 13, 1996 of gunshot wounds inflicted six days prior. On September 7, Tupac was in Las Vegas with Suge Knight to watch a Mike Tyson fight at the MGM Grand hotel. There was a scuffle after the bout between a member of the Crips gang and Tupac. Knight, who was involved with the rival Bloods gang, and members of his entourage piled in. Later, as a car that Tupac was sharing with Knight stopped at a red light, a man emerged from another car and fired 13 shots, hitting Tupac in the hand, pelvis and chest. He later died at the hospital. His girlfriend Kidada and his mother Afeni were both with him in his final days.

Tupac's body was cremated. Members of his old band, Outlawz, made the controversial claim that they had smoked some of his ashes in honor of him. His mother announced she would scatter her son's ashes in Soweto, South Africa, the "birthplace of his ancestors," on the 10th anniversary of his murder. She later changed the date to June 16, 1997 — Tupac's 26th birthday as well as the anniversary of the 1976 Soweto uprising.

On March 9, 1997, six months after Tupac died, Biggie Smalls was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles; his murder has never been solved, either.

Tupac Shakur died of gunshot wounds in 1996. However because his murder has never been solved, conspiracy theories have raged ever since. Fans have speculated that Tupac faked his death. On his album Life Goes On, Tupac rapped about his funeral; his song “I Ain’t Mad at Cha” was released two days after he died. There have been several reported potential Tupac “sightings” since his death, including in 2012 by Kim Kardashian.

In September 2017, Suge Knight hinted that Tupac might be alive in an interview. "When I left that hospital me and 'Pac was laughing and joking. I don't see how someone can go from doing well to doing bad," said Knight, adding that “with Pac you never know” if he could be alive and living in secret somewhere.

Tupac has released a total of 11 platinum albums: four during his career, with seven more released posthumously. To date, Tupac has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. As of September 2017, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) listed Tupac as the 44th top-selling artist of all time by album sales and streaming figures.

Tupac's first album as a solo artist was 2Pacalypse Now. Although it did not yield any hits, it sold a respectable 500,000 copies and established Tupac as an uncompromising social commentator on songs such as "Brenda's Got a Baby" — which narrates an underaged mother's fall into destitution — and "Soulja's Story," which controversially spoke of "blasting" a police officer and "droppin' the cop." The song was cited as a motivation for a real-life cop killing by a teenage car thief called Ronald Ray Howard, and was condemned by the then-U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle. "There is absolutely no reason for a record like this to be published," Quayle said. "It has no place in our society." With those words, Shakur's notoriety was guaranteed.

Tupac’s second album, Strictly 4 My Niggaz, dropped in February 1993. It continued in the same socially conscious vein as his debut. On the gold-certified single "Keep Ya Head Up," he empathized with "my sisters on the welfare," encouraging them to "please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up." The video featured a cameo from his good friend, actress Jada Pinkett-Smith, whom Tupac had met in high school at the Baltimore School for the Arts in Maryland.

The album also featured contributions from Tupac's step-brother, Mopreme. Mopreme became a member of the hip-hop group Thug Life, which Tupac started and which released the album Thug Life: Volume 1 in 1994.

When Tupac's third solo album came out on March 14, 1995, he was in jail. Its title, Me Against the World, could not have been more apt. It reached No. 1 in the Billboard 200 chart and is considered by many to be his magnum opus — "by and large a work of pain, anger and burning desperation" wrote Cheo H. Coker at Rolling Stone. But there was vulnerability, too — lead single, "Dear Mama," was a tear-jerking tribute to his mother, Afeni, that hit number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1995.

Tupac's debut for Death Row, the double-length album All Eyez on Me, came out in February 1996. With his new hip-hop group Outlawz debuting on the album, All Eyez on Me was an unapologetic celebration of the thug lifestyle, eschewing socially conscious lyrics in favour of gangsta-funk hedonism and menace. Dr Dre, who had pioneered g-funk with NWA, produced the album's first single, "California Love" — which went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and remains Tupac's best-known song. The third single from the album, "How Do You Want It," also reached No. 1. Within two months of its release, All Eyez on Me had been certified five-times double-platinum. It would eventually become diamond certified.

Released as a single in June 1996, “How Do You Want It” was more famous for its B track, “Hit ‘Em Up,” which aired Tupac’s West Coast feud with East Coast Bad Boy rivals. On the inflammatory song, Tupac spat venom at artists including Biggie Smalls, Lil Kim, Junior M.A.F.I.A. and Prodigy of Mobb Deep. The track seemed to chillingly presage Tupac’s death and the ensuing conspiracy theories:

“Grab ya glocks, when you see Tupac; Call the cops, when you see Tupac, uh; Who shot me, but ya punks didn't finish; Now ya bout to feel the wrath of a menace,” he rapped.

Tupac's fifth album, Don Killuminati: The Seven Day Theory, was released in November 1996, just eight weeks after his death. It also reached No. 1 on the charts. Tupac recorded a total of six studio albums released posthumously, up to and including Pac's Life in 2006.