Book Description

Even as a kid, Alicia knew music was in her heart. Fortunately, she grew up in New York City, a place offering everything from free concerts in Central Park to the background music of street and subway performers. She had the chance to take advantage of the culture the city provided as well as its quality education. At 12 years old, she auditioned and was accepted to the Professional Performing Arts School. For Alicia, the school was an artistic playground. Soon, she was on her way to her first recording contract.

After disagreements with Columbia Records, Alicia was able to record her music, her own way, for Clive Davis and his newly formed J Records. Her debut album, Songs in A Minor, along with her hit single, Fallin’, have put Alicia in the winner’s circle with 5 Grammy Awards. Her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, became a triple platinum album. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Awsome Book
Alicia is truly an amazin artist and this book really lets you know eveything bout her! ... Read more

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A fine survey of the rap music genre's origins and evolution
Cookie Lommell's History Of Rap Music will appeal to ages 10 and older with its fine survey of the rap music genre's origins and evolution. Chapters cover early promoters, the rising success and popularity of rap, and the empires which evolved from the musicians' success. ... Read more

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Great resource
Although this book is definately written for pre-teens and teens, I found it extremely helpful. As an English teacher, I'm constantly trying to find new ways to reach my students. What better way than rap? And what better way to encourage students to think more about the world around them than a book that describes for them the history of rap music. (No, it didn't start in the 1970s)

For students, you will find information on present day rappers such as Eminem and Tupac Shakur. Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill are also mentioned. Read this book! ... Read more

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Worth buying
Not just a blase book, this has articles from different journalists like Ronin Ro, SH Fernando Jr etc and is a good study on aspects of Hip Hop. Sort of book that people might overlook but that would be an error. Interesting. ... Read more

Book Description

Music has been important to Missy Elliott all her life. From her earliest recollections of turning up the radio to drown out her parents’ arguments, to singing to her dolls, Missy just loved to write poems and to sing. But in the early 1980s, judging by the videos she saw on MTV, there didn’t seem to be a place for her in hip-hop. The women in hip-hop weren’t singers or songwriters—they were merely set decorations. But after the all-female group Salt-N-Pepa became successful in 1988, Missy thought she could do it too. With countless awards and successful albums to her name, it looks like she was right. ... Read more

Book Description

Songs in Spanish that teach the alphabet, vowels, consonants, time, days of the week, seasons, the environment and more. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Fonetica Funky
I was disappointed with this CD. Neither I nor my two year old daughter enjoy the songs. She does not seem to be learning any Spanish because the words in the songs are spoken too fast for her to understand and no translation in English occurs during the songs. The details stating the CD is for all ages was very misleading. The CD is definately for older children who already have learned Spanish and use the songs for review. Also, the CD only had eleven songs. I found other Spanish CDs more enjoyable for less money with many more songs.

Nice rap
The music is very good, but for some reason I didn't notice before I bought it that it was all rap (and similar). That aside, the rhythm is catchy and I really like a few of the songs.
My favorite songs were (song #5) days of the week (song #10) months of the year.

Outstanding! Practical, fun and enlightening!
I am a high school teacher and use these songs in my curriculum for review, introduction of vocabulary and grammar, and for enrichment. I would recommend to all Spanish teachers to purchase this tape kit for the classroom.

Actually, one of my students liked the cassette so well, he stole it from my file cabinet while a substitute teacher was filling in.

My students especially enjoy Quien nos Salvara, which teaches the names of continents and oceans while dealing with the problem of world pollution at the same time.

Other favorites are Cupones, which teaches about money, Animalitos Son, which reviews the alphabet with a different animal representing each letter, and Androide, which deals with telling time, from the point of view of an Androide who has no time for life. ... Read more

Book Description

Rap artist Shawn Carter grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He attended George Westinghouse Technical High School which would later be dubbed "Hip-Hop High School" for the future stars who attended.

At the age of 18, Shawn took a chance at a hip-hop career and took on the name Jay-Z. But he didn’t trust record labels that seemed to exploit artists for their talent and keep the profits for themselves. So Shawn decided to do it himself. He cut his own album and sold copies from the trunk of his car. Controlling his own career, Jay-Z started his own record label. Even though he has announced his retirement, Jay-Z will be remembered as a legendary hip-hop artist. ... Read more

Book Description

If it seemed like Britney Spears appeared on the music scene and instantly became a smashing success, it was just an illusion. In reality, Britney has been working for years to create the kind of stardom she has just begun to receive. A down-home country girl, Britney has talent, confidence, and strong values. As a child actress, she appeared on Star Search, starred in the Disney Channel’s New Mickey Mouse Club (with Justin Timberlake and J. C. Chasez of ’N Sync), and made countless commercials. But at age 15, Britney was itching to do the singing/dancing solo routine. With the chart-topping success of her debut album/single . . . Baby One More Time, Britney began capitalizing on her brush with fame. After all this, she wants to be a role model for her fans. All across the world Britney Spears is a dedicated performer who is responsible for her own success. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Awesome Britney book!
I really loved this book. It's filled with information about Britney that I haven't seen in the other books I've read about her. It was cool to read about her childhood and especially how hard she worked to get where she is. This is a really great book for every Britney fan! ... Read more

Book Description

Just about every fan of popular music has heard of either Puffy, Puff Daddy, or P. Diddy. That’s because Sean Combs, known throughout the years by many names, has influenced current music as much as anyone else in recent history. Born in a tough New York City neighborhood, Combs, or P. Diddy, braved the rough streets and immersed himself in the hip-hop and rap culture. Using his love of hip-hop music as a springboard, he learned everything he could about the music industry and then decided to make his mark. After becoming a successful record producer, P. Diddy later went on to become a Grammy Award–winning rapper in his own right. Now, the multi-talented superstar has branched out into the restaurant business, clothing business, and acting. And along the way, he’s never forgotten the communities that helped support his climb to the top. ... Read more

Book Description

Christina Aguilera began performing in talent shows when she was six years old. She appeared on "Star Search" at the age of eight. At ten she sang the National Anthem for the Pittsburgh Steelers and at twelve, she joined the cast of "The New Mickey Mouse Club." If she seems in a hurry, she is. "I’ve wanted to be a star since I was six or seven," she said.

The release of her debut album soared to the top of the music charts scoring two number one hit singles with sales surpassing the ten million mark. All this, along with winning the 2000 Grammy for Best New Artist was not bad for a kid who had not yet turned twenty. Her success continued with "Mi Reflejo," the smash Spanish language version of her debut, followed by her hit holiday release, "My Kind of Christmas." With her second album "Stripped" certified 3x platinum and her film debut in the animated movie Shark Tale, Christina’s talent provides her with endless possibilities for the future. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Not Very Imformative...
This is another title in the "Real Life Reader Biography" series. These books are quick, short biographies of famous singers, actors, entertainers, and atheletes. I enjoy reading them when I want to learn more about someone, (there are over 100 titles in the series) but these books do not give you much information if you are planning on doing a report or a project about the person. This entry in the series about Christina Aguilera discusses her life up until the release of "Christina Aguilera". It includes many black-and-white photos of Christina and plenty of sidebars. However, this book wasn't very imformative, and it was only 32 pages. Plus, the printing was VERY large. This book doesn't really tell about Christina's life outside of her singing career, and that was one thing that I really wanted to find out in this book. I would recommend this book to younger Christina Aguilera fans or to anyone who hasn't ever read any material about her life before. For those fans who want a longer and more detailed biography of Christina Aguilera, I would recommend you reading the book "Christina Aguilera: A Star is Made", by Pier Dominguez.

Christina Roxs!!!
I love Christina..since forever..she is the most talented and beautiful singer i have ever seen! This book is great! It has lots of details about almost everything about her..I would definately recommend this book! You go Christina, love ya alwayz! ... Read more

Book Description

Teaches multiplication tables to 12 in french with 12 upbeat pop tunes. A complement of "music-only" tracks allows the student to strengthen reading by performing karaoke style. ... Read more

Book Description

The 3R Rap was designed to improve multiplication, reading and writing skills. It teaches multiplication tables from 2 to 12 using interesting songs in various styles: rap, calypso, country, gospel and rock. A complement of "music-only" tracks encourage the student to perform karaoke style while improving reading skills. This kit was nominated for University of Louisville's Grawemeyer Award for outstanding educational achievement. ... Read more

Book Description

Students love to learn French with rap music. They'll learn about the alphabet, vowels, consonants, family members, parts of the body, days of the week, colors, fruit, opposites, and shapes. ... Read more