Who is Erica Abi Wright?

Who is Erica Abi Wright? [1]She is better known by her stage name Erykah Badu, is a multiple Grammy-winner American soul singer and songwriter, whose work encompasses elements of R&B, hip hop and jazz.[2] She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical stylings and sense of fashion. She is known as the "First Lady of Neo-Soul". She is performing at Keyshia Cole's Just Like You Tour.
Early in her career, Badu was recognizable for wearing very large and colorful headwraps. For her musical sensibilities, she has often been compared to jazz great Billie Holiday.[2] She was a core member of the Soulquarians, and is also an actress having appeared in a number of films playing a range of supporting roles in movies such as Blues Brothers 2000, The Cider House Rules, and House of D.

Erykah Badu was born in South Dallas, Texas, on February 26, 1971. Her mother raised her and her brother and sisters alone, their father, William Wright, Jr., had left the family early in their lives. To provide for her family, the children's grandmother often helped in looking after them while Erykah's mother, Kollen Maria Gipson (Wright), performed as an actress in theatrical productions. Influenced by her mother, Erykah had her first taste of show business at the age of 4, singing and dancing with her mother at the Dallas Theatre Centre. By the age of 14, Erykah was free-styling for a local radio station alongside such talent as Roy Hargrove. In her early youth, she decided to change the spelling of her name from Erica to Erykah, as she firmly believed her original name to be her 'slave' name. The term 'kah' signifies the inner self, which, when translated from Arabic, means 'can do no wrong'.[3] Badu is also an African name for the 10th born child used for the Ashanti people in Ghana[4][5]. Additionally in a letter written to Erykah from her father, "Badu in Arabic means truth and light...good choice kid." Erykah Badu currently resides in Dallas, Texas.
Upon graduating from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Badu went on to study theater at the historically black college Grambling State University. Concentrating on music full-time, she left the university in 1993 before graduating and took on several minimum wage jobs to support herself. She taught drama and dance to children at the South Dallas Cultural Center. Working and touring with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford, she recorded a 19-song demo, Country Cousins, which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg, who set Badu up to record a duet with D'Angelo, "Your Precious Love," and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal Records.[5]

Baduizm, Badu's highly acclaimed debut album, was released in early 1997 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts. Lead single "On & On" reached #12 on the singles charts in both the U.S. and UK. Badu received notice for her introspective lyrics and jazzy, bass-heavy sound, and was hailed as one of the leading lights of the burgeoning neo soul genre. Her sophisticated style of singing drew many comparisons to Billie Holiday.[6]Baduizm eventually went triple platinum and, along with "On & On," won Grammy Awards at the 1998 ceremonies.
During that year, Badu became involved with rapper André 3000 of OutKast, with whom she had a child, Seven, who was born in 1997. Their relationship ended sometime in the late 90s. Badu recorded her first live album, Live, while pregnant with Seven, and the release of the recording coincided with the birth to her child.[7]Live reached #4 on the Billboard charts, selling double platinum, and spawned another R&B hit single in "Tyrone," a song chiding a selfish, cheap, and inattentive boyfriend.[8] Badu also collaborated with the Roots (who had previously handled production duties on a number of tracks on Baduizm) on their breakthrough 1999 release, Things Fall Apart. She was featured on the song "You Got Me," co-written by Jill Scott, which hit the top 40 and won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
After taking some time off to raise her child, Badu returned in 2000 with Mama's Gun, an album more organic in sound than her previous studio album, and primarily produced by the Soulquarians and noted bassist Pino Palladino. A remix of one of the album's songs, "Bag Lady," was issued as the first single and topped the R&B charts for seven weeks. The album was well-received, with the lyrical content winning notices from many publications who found some of her lyrics hard to decipher on her initial releases.[9] Despite not charting as high as her first two albums, Mama's Gun was another platinum-selling success, and "Bag Lady" was nominated for a Grammy.
By 2000, Badu was in a romantic relationship with fellow Soulquarian Common, and "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" was released as a collaboration between the two on the Brown Sugar soundtrack. "Love of My Life" hit #9 on the pop charts, topped the R&B listings, and Badu was awarded her fourth Grammy for the song in 2003.[10]
After the release of Mama's Gun and "Love of My Life," Badu went through a period of writer's block.[11] She hit the road throughout 2002 and much of 2003 on what she dubbed the "Frustrated Artist Tour," in search of inspiration to write and perform new material.[12] The conclusion of the tour saw Badu head back to the studio with new material, and in September of 2003, the Worldwide Underground album was released. More jam-oriented than any of her prior releases, Badu was quoted as saying that the release was designed to serve as one continuous groove.[13] Worldwide Underground reached #3 on the Billboard charts and was certified gold not long after its release, and Badu received four further Grammy nominations for the album.

After almost four years and the birth of a daughter, Puma, it was revealed in 2007 that Badu had three albums in the works over the course of 2007 and 2008. Honey, a new single produced by 9th Wonder, was leaked online in November 2007, and the new album, titled New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), was released on February 26, 2008. Part two of the album is currently slated for February 2009 release.[14] Erykah Badu is set to perform at the 10th annual Voodoo Experience in New Orleans the weekend before Halloween 2008.[15]
On August 23, 2008, Badu joined the rock band My Morning Jacket on stage at their show in Dallas, Texas to perform her song "Tyrone". Her surprise appearance was met with an enthusiastic reaction from the audience.[16]
The second installment of her New Amerykah series, Part Two (Return of the Ankh), is due out sometime in 2009.

Badu's lyrics are highly personal philosophies which throw emotional challenges in the face of the listener. She weaves unusual musical influences together creating a rich texture of sound. In many instances she references old school rappers and songs in her songs, adding a general Hip hop sensibility to her music.
Some music journalists have labeled her Nu soul or neo soul, often comparing her to Billie Holiday in lyrical delivery and grouping her with D'Angelo in musical genre. An eclectic collaborator, she has performed with artists from many different genres and backgrounds, among them roots reggae musician and singer Burning Spear.

Badu has a son named Seven Sirius born in 1997 with ex-partner André 3000 of OutKast. On July 5, 2004, Badu gave birth to a daughter, Puma Sabti, in her Dallas home; Puma's father is West Coast rapper The D.O.C. who is originally from Dallas, Texas. She also dated rapper Common from 2000 to 2002. On February 1, 2009 Badu gave birth to her third child, a baby girl, with her boyfriend of four years, rapper Jay Electronica[17]. In attendance were Jay and her two other children Puma and Seven. Mother and child are doing fine.
Badu divides her time between Fort Greene, Brooklyn[18] and Dallas, Texas.
Badu also remains an activist in her hometown of South Dallas. Her charity organization, Beautiful Love Incorporated Non Profit Development (B.L.I.N.D. 501c3), provides community-driven development for inner-city youth through music, dance, theater and visual arts.

Badu appeared in the films Blues Brothers 2000, The Cider House Rules, House of D, Before the Music Dies, and Dave Chappelle's Block Party. She also appeared in scenes of the music video of Miko Marks' 2006 recording 'Mama' and Common's video for "The Light" as well as making a special appearance on the sitcom Girlfriends. more

Who is Jessica Claire Biel?

Who is Jessica Claire Biel? [2] Beil is an American actress and former model, who has appeared in several Hollywood films, including Summer Catch, the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Illusionist and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. She is also known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven.

Jessica Claire Biel was born March 3, 1982 in Ely, Minnesota, to Kimberly Biel (née Conroe), a homemaker, and Jon Biel, an entrepreneur. She has a younger brother, Justin, born in 1985. Biel has Native American (Choctaw), German, French, English and Irish ancestry.[3]
Biel's family moved a lot during her childhood, living in Texas, Connecticut and Woodstock, Illinois, before finally settling in Boulder, Colorado.

Biel initially trained to be a vocalist, and appeared in several musical productions in her hometown, playing lead roles in productions such as Annie, The Sound of Music and Beauty and the Beast.
At 12 years old, Biel attended The International Modeling and Talent Association Conference in Los Angeles, where she was discovered and signed on by an talent agency. She began doing modeling work in print ads, as well as appearing in commercials for products such as Deluxe Paint and Pringles.
Biel also played a lead role in a low-budget musical short titled It's a Digital World, but the film was never released.

At age 14, after auditioning for several television pilots, Biel was cast as the oldest daughter in the family drama, 7th Heaven. The show was originally scheduled to air on FOX, but was picked up by The WB Television Network instead. 7th Heaven would go on to last for 11 seasons, making it the longest-running family drama in US television history, and also became the highest-rated show on The WB.
Biel landed her first feature film role, playing Peter Fonda's granddaughter in the critically-acclaimed drama Ulee's Gold, released in 1997. Her performance as the gothic, rebellious teenager earned her a Young Artist Award.
In spring 1998, during a break from filming 7th Heaven, Biel starred in the holiday movie I'll Be Home for Christmas, playing opposite Jonathan Taylor Thomas.

In 2000, during the fourth season of 7th Heaven, Biel commented that she grew tired of playing the wholesome preacher's kid, and blamed the show for giving her a squeaky-clean image, which caused her to lose out on a role in American Beauty (the part went to Thora Birch). In a last ditch attempt to be let out of her contract, she posed semi-nude for the cover of Gear magazine. Fans and producers of 7th Heaven were outraged, and the shoot also sparked a lot of controversy, as Biel was still a minor at the time, but Aaron Spelling made it clear that Biel would be staying with the show until her contract was due to expire (although, she appeared in minimal episodes in season five, due to her attending college out of state). She has now claimed that she regrets the Gear shoot, but considers it a learning experience.

In 2001, Biel played the love interest of Freddie Prinze, Jr. in the baseball themed movie, Summer Catch. The next year, she starred as promiscuous college student Lara in the ensemble, The Rules of Attraction, a film adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name.


After leaving 7th Heaven at the end of the sixth season, Biel was cast as the lead heroine in the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The film was met with mixed reviews, but became a box office success, scoring the number one spot in its opening week.

In fall 2003, Biel began working on the third installment of the Blade film series, Blade: Trinity. Almost immediately after finishing Blade Trinity in 2004, she headed to Australia to shoot the action/thriller Stealth. Part of the film was shot aboard USS Abraham Lincoln. Both movies were critical and box office failures. Stealth had a budget of $130 million, but grossed just $76 million worldwide. Biel also made a notable cameo appearance in the 2004 film Cellular, which starred her then real-life boyfriend Chris Evans.


Biel's film career blossomed when she played a turn-of-the-century duchess in the period piece, The Illusionist, co-starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. The movie received mostly-positive reviews, and was a turning point for Biel, who had previously played more contemporary roles. She was awarded the Rising Star Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and won an Achievement Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival for her performance.

Biel played an Iraq War veteran in the 2006 film Home of the Brave, a drama about soldiers struggling to adjust back into society after facing the hardships of war. Her performance was well-received, but the movie was a commercial failure. After being pulled from theaters twice, it eventually went straight to DVD in late 2007. Biel and Home of the Brave co-star Samuel L. Jackson were nominated for Prism Awards for their performances.

Meanwhile, after a three-year absence, Biel surprised fans by returning for what was to be the series finale of 7th Heaven (the show was later unexpectedly renewed at the last minute by The CW Television Network). The episode had already been initially shot, but producer and creator Brenda Hampton was determined to have Biel featured in the episode, so Biel agreed to shoot her scenes during a break from filming her upcoming 2007 movie Next.

In Next, Biel played alongside Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore. She then played in the summer comedy, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, co-starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Like her earlier film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Chuck and Larry received mixed reviews, but opened its first week at number one at the box office. She also produced and starred in a short film titled Hole in the Paper Sky, which was released in 2008.

Biel was invited to announce nominations at both the Golden Globe Awards (with Rosario Dawson and Matthew Perry) and the Academy Awards in 2007.

Biel at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January 2007
In late 2007, Biel signed on to play a stripper in Powder Blue. She will be playing alongside Forest Whitaker (who also produced the film) Ray Liotta and Patrick Swayze. This is her first film in which she appears nude.

At the start of 2008, Biel flew to England to shoot Easy Virtue, an adaptation of the play by Noël Coward. Like the play, the movie is set in the 1920s and Biel plays divorcee Larita, who marries John Whittaker in a spur-of-the-moment in France, but must face her disapproving in-laws when they return to England. The film premiered in September 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival.[4]The film opened to great reviews with the Hollywood Reporter describing her performance as "an irresistible force of nature -- a kind, witty, supremely intelligent and beautiful woman who ... is capable of rejoinders that thoroughly undercut her opponent's withering criticism."[5]

In April 2008, Biel began working on the political satire Nailed, with Jake Gyllenhaal. The movie centers around a woman who accidentally gets a nail lodged in her head causing her to become a nymphomaniac. Filming wrapped up in late-June after several production shut downs. The movie is due to be released in 2009.

Biel has a few other movies in the pipeline, including the animated sci-fi Planet 51, to which Biel is lending her voice. She is also co-producing and starring in Die a Little, a contemporary adaptation of the novel by Megan Abbott. A start date for filming has not yet been set.

It was rumored that Biel was planning on recording an album with the help of boyfriend Justin Timberlake, however she has denied the reports, stating: "I don't really think I'll be putting out an album with Justin anytime soon. Doing a musical or a film musical, that would be awesome though."[6]
Jessica performs 2 songs on the upcoming Easy Virtue Soundtrack. Mad About the Boy and When the Going Gets Tough. Out on November 3rd.[7]

On July 18, 2006, Biel participated in a charity auction to raise medical funds for Colorado teen Molly Bloom, who was injured in an auto accident. John Schiffner of Fergus Falls, Minnesota successfully bid $30,000 to have lunch with Biel. "I promise I'm a cheap date," Biel quipped. Biel and Schiffner lunched at Denver's The Palm restaurant[8] on August 18, 2006.[9]

In early 2007, Jessica co-founded the Make the Difference Network[2] with her father, Jon Biel, and another business partner, Kent McBride. Make The Difference Network (MTDN) is a cause-oriented social network that connects non-profit organizations with potential donors and increases the awareness for small-to-medium non-profit organizations. MTDN's misson is to democratize giving by increasing the visibility of thousands of non-profit organizations and empowering potential donors to search, select and fund these organizations’ specific "wishes" and then to see the results of their giving.[10] Make the Difference Network was also featured at the 2007 Clinton Global Initiative, where they made a commitment to democratize giving through the use of a social network.[11]more

Who is Bill Cunningham?

Who is Bill Cunningham? Cunningham is an American talk radio host. His full-time job is hosting The Big Show with Bill Cunningham, a local show on 700 WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cunningham now hosts Live on Sunday Night, it's Bill Cunningham, which is syndicated to over 300 stations by Premiere Radio Networks. He is also a regular guest on Fox News Channel's Hannity and Colmes.

Cunningham was born on December 11, 1947. His first regular show on the station was at night, generally from 9:00 p.m. until midnight; this meant that his show was not heard during the summer months, when WLW broadcasts Cincinnati Reds baseball games. In the late 1990s, Cunningham's show was moved to early afternoons, which put his show directly opposite that of one of his favorite radio stars, Rush Limbaugh, whose show is heard on sister station 550 WKRC.
In 2001, Cunningham won the National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award for Large-Market Personality of the Year.


Cunningham is a Republican (yet will often distance himself from that label in reaction to what he views as poor Republican politics), and his political views are mostly conservative sometimes libertarian. To the guests or callers whose statements or views Cunningham respects and appreciates, he will often dub them "A Great American." While Cunningham will spend a majority of his show blasting liberal politics, he will often remark about his disfavor of Republicans who do not practice conservative values by calling them "RINO's" (Republican In Name Only). Cunningham's topics include a variety of subjects, but usually focus on national and local (Greater Cincinnati) news and politics. His efforts to discuss conservative sensibilities often lead him to make "edgy" assessments, sometimes resulting in backlash. However, Cunningham will usually attempt to justify (or at least clarify) his points as they relate to local or national issues, typically at the conclusion of his on-air discussions.


This article's Criticism or Controversy section(s) may mean the article does not present a neutral point of view of the subject. It may be better to integrate the material in such sections into the article as a whole.
In 2001, shortly after race-related riots over the police killing of an African-American teenager who was fleeing their pursuit, Federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Nathaniel Jones blasted Cunningham in a speech at a local YMCA, calling the show “trash, and filth and profanity.”[1] (Jones is a former civil rights lawyer who worked for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Cunningham has been a frequent critic of the organization and civil rights activists in general, particularly Rev. Jesse Jackson, who Cunningham nicknames the "Rhyming Reverend.")

In December 2003, Cunningham drew more fire for making fun of Nathaniel Jones (not to be confused with the aforementioned judge), an African-American resident of Cincinnati who died after violently resisting police outside a White Castle restaurant; video of the incident again inflamed the local African-American community. [2] Jones, who weighed more than 350 lb. (159 kg), was found to have died of an enlarged heart, and various narcotics were found to be present in his body while violently resisting arrest at the time of his death, which may have contributed to his reaction to police efforts to subdue him. Cunningham made fun of Jones' obesity and apparent drug use in a skit on his show, which prompted various local civil rights groups to call for his resignation or firing. [3] Cunningham maintains privately that he, "cannot see how this isn't funny."

On February 26, 2008, Cunningham created another controversy when he spoke at a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate John McCain at Cincinnati's Memorial Hall, repeatedly referring to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama by his full name of "Barack Hussein Obama" and calling him "a hack, Chicago-style Daley politician." Cunningham also told the crowd that the media would eventually "peel the bark off Barack Hussein Obama" and reveal his connection with indicted fundraiser Antoin Rezko and the "sweetheart deals" Obama received in Chicago. After the rally, McCain repudiated Cunningham's comments and stated that he wanted "to dissociate myself with any disparaging remarks that may have been said about" Obama. Cunningham later, unrepentantly, called John McCain John "Juan Pablo" McCain, accusing him of "(throwing him under the bus), the Straight- Talk Express."[4]


In 2005, several local news media reported that Cunningham was seriously considering a run for the United States House of Representatives seat for the Second District of Ohio, which was vacated by Rob Portman, who was appointed United States Trade Representative by President George W. Bush. Cunningham later decided not to run.

On October 7, 2007, Cunningham took over the Matt Drudge show airing Sunday nights 10p-1a on 320 radio stations, including his flagship station WLW, which will occasionally preempt the show for special sports programming and does not broadcast the third hour (which is pre-empted for the local hour of America's Trucking Network). The show also airs in its entirety on XM Satellite Radio channel 165, with replays on 158.

Cunningham is a friend of fellow radio host Sean Hannity, who (along with listeners) frequently uses one of Cunningham's catch phrases, "You're a great American"--even though Hannity can't always directly attribute the source of the phrase on the air, since his show is also on 550 WKRC, in competition with Cunningham's WLW. more