Sonny Rollins

Walter Theodore Rollins, AKA "Sonny", is widely recognized in the jazz world as an influential saxophonist. Born September 7th, 1930, Rollins still lives today, alongside his powerful works of jazz. As someone who wanted to be remembered for always wanting to be better, Rollins did more than live up to his goal. Having had recorded over 60 albums, Rollins is known for his skills in improvisation.
Rollins tone echos through his saxophone in each piece he performs. The way he sings each song to the audience through the vibration of the tenor is an inspiration for many. His songs reflect a multitude of emotion, making each piece related to everyone. Sonny received his first performance Grammy for This Is What I Do, and his second for Without a Song, in 2004. To make 2004 even better, that year he was also awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
As someone who enjoys thinking outside the box, Rollins is credited for his unique, risk-taking music style. Consequently, he was one of the first people to improvise without following the tempo, successfully. This was a huge milestone in jazz music. Rollins is also credited for swinging within a solo while his band members kept a strict tempo. Overall, Rollins' playing is groundbreaking, and introduced many of jazz's key characteristics into present day music.

1.) https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/sonny-rollins-jazz-saxophonist-interview/
In the article titled, “I Was Always Trying To Get Better”: Sonny Rollins On A Life In Jazz, Rollins is asked about the journey that brought him into jazz. Through various quotes from Rollins himself, the reader is able to get a feel for the strong will and passion Rollins has for the tenor saxophone. Furthermore, the reader is able to gaze into what Rollins' life used to be like, and hear him laugh at the mistakes and successes that has made him who he is today.

2.) https://sonnyrollins.com/
The website above supports Rollins' music while giving inside information and sharing interviews about his unique character. In his bio section, the reader gains background knowledge about the life of the player and his journey through fame. Consequently, there is access to his music as well as a Q&A which gives voice to Rollins.

3.) http://www.bluenote.com/artist/sonny-rollins/
In the website above, Sonny Rollins is portrayed in his true form: "the greatest contemporary jazz saxophonist of them all." The biography of Rollins discusses the life that led him up to becoming the well known player he is today. This life includes his time working with other instrumentalists, as well as on his own. Furthermore, various recordings are discussed as well as available for listening.

HR Giger

Hans Ruedi Giger (1940-2014)  was a swiss painter who was most famously known for the creation of the alien from the 1979 movie “Alien”. Although alien might be what he is primarily known for, Giger is a very successful artist who focused on horror sci-fi drawings and paintings. Most of his art has very pleasing geometric proportions due to him studying architecture before he started making visual art. Giger's art  has a very dark feeling to it and part of that feeling stems from Giger living so close to Germany as a young child during WW2. He used that fear and translated it into his art. Another influence to Gigers work was the artist Salvador Dali. Although Giger may Have died 6 years ago his art still lives through his museum in Switzerland which he designed to represent his accomplishments.

http://www.artnet.com/artists/hans-rudolf-giger/

• This website is an auction site with alot of copies of Gigers work, it also includes a short paragraph about the artist.

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-nightmarish-works-hr-giger-artist-alien

• This website goes into detail about Gigers life and influences and experiences.

https://www.hrgigermuseum.com/

• This website is a description of the museum where Gigers work is stored, it also shows a lot of the work in the museum.
  

$UICIDEBOY$

While having quite an intense name $uicideboy$ are a two younger men named Scott Arceneaux Jr and Ruby da Cherry From New Orleans Louisiana. The artists produce hard rap and what some would consider metal. For the last couple of years these artists have really stuck with me because of they're attitude. They do not care what other people think and do what they want when they want without an influence from their fan base. They are not producing mainstream music that sounds like the rest they are producing original works of art. The question has even been raised on "how they changed rap music." I think them having a very unique style is what has made them the stars they are today and that is what will help them to be even more successful in their future. Although not appealing to most I think that these to are very important artists to the music industry. https://www.complex.com/music/2018/09/suicideboys-say-they-influenced-soundcloud-rap-coming-for-their-credit
In this article it talks about how $uicideboy$ feel that they were the main influencers of sound-cloud rap. It is important because sound cloud is what gets a lot of artists started on making music and they think that they were the originators.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/uicideboy-mn0003530108/biography
This gives background as how the group came together and from then how they have continued to make music and produce albums.
https://www.xxlmag.com/news/2017/04/suicideboys-interview-the-break/
This story gives insight on how the group came to like music and their choice of music before they were creating their own.

Dean Russo

Dean Russo is an American artist known for colorful paintings of animal faces as well as human faces. He outlines the faces in dark, heavy lines normally but every other bit of every piece is filled to the brim with shapes and colors. This formula Russo has created is absolutely brilliant for a multitude of reasons. For one, this appeals to the common person who is only trained to see normal, familiar shapes like those of animals. Yet, in spite of being based in such representational art, the rest is so abstract Russo's paintings represents the infinite amount of personalities and thoughts and feelings each subject could have at any point in time. Because of this, many of Russo's paintings are sponsored by charity organizations such as The Mountain for animal conservation and other causes, which is how I first found out about him. Most of his work goes towards these kinds of great causes we should all invest into, and every painting shows us why.

Here's what others say about Dean Russo:

The Grommet agrees with my sentiments - saying Russo's art is a fantastic representation of all that an animal is and will be beyond their aesthetics.  Every piece has every bit of love we would pour into our pets.

FramedArt describes Russo as amazingly unique and masterful in capturing the individualism of every living creature. It's also noted that his ability to use at least ten mediums in every work without seeming to be too much is unparalleled. 

Frame USA says Russo's love of animals is effectively communicated through every work he has done. The vibrancy in each painting is to contrast his home, Brooklyn, to say animals and Brooklyn are both misunderstood and no matter where one is they are as bright as his work.

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, (AKA Eminem)

Rapper, song producer, and actor, Eminem is one of the best-selling rappers in the 21^st century and has continued to stay relevant throughout the past years, starting his music history in early 1999. Growing up with Eminem as a child influenced me in a lot of ways, and his music has always stayed relevant in my life. Having 15 Grammys under his belt along with his latest album Music to Be Murdered By becoming his 10^th consecutive album to debut at the top of the Billboard 200 chart. One of the most admirable things about him is that even after all of the criticism with some of his past albums he still continues with his music and makes it to the top every time. Eminem started rapping at age 14, and dropped out of high school due to his bad homelife situation but he managed to take his pain and put it towards his songs like, “Cleaning out my closet” or “headlights” and even created an iconic alter ego named Slim Shady. Still continuing with his music career, I think his fame will only increase as times go on, and will go down as a legendary rapper.

·         https://www.eminem.com/

o    Everything you need in terms of Eminem, his latest album for sale along with his merchandise. You also can listen to his new singles as well as buy a ticket for his new tour coming out soon.

·         https://www.biography.com/musician/eminem

o    Everything you need to know about Eminem is on this page, His family, his education, as well as his career and song history, you can get all the information that defines him as a person along with some quick facts to interest you.

·          https://www.nme.com/photos/50-things-you-didn-t-know-about-eminem-1428834

o    Fun facts that you never knew about Eminem, that you NEED to know about him. 50 facts listen about him and his life.

Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury is often hailed a master of science fiction. He wrote scores of short stories and novels throughout his lifetime in science fiction, horror, fantasy, and mystery fiction. However, Bradbury himself denied being a science fiction writer. He claimed he only wrote one science fiction story and that was the famous Fahrenheit 451. His other stories, he said, were fantasy, that they could not ever be real. Surely automated cars, the illegality of walking down the street at night, a fully automated home the only survivor of nuclear warfare, seemed fantastical in the mid to late 20th century, but in today’s world these seem just a few breakthroughs away. We already have Alexas and Google Homes and Rumbas and other Smart technology featured in “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains.” Bradbury’s work is monumental in fiction and in our futures. His stories tell us of what can be, and what should not be. He predicted much of today’s world back in the 1950s, and if we read closely, we will see the danger in where we are heading as a society. Ray Bradbury’s works are as much a warning as they are a hope. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/books/ray-bradbury-who-made-science-fiction-respectable.html
A New York Times article about Ray Bradbury's rise from Pulp Fiction into mainstream fiction and why he is now in high school curriculum's across the country.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jun/07/ray-bradbury-influence-barack-obama
An article on Barack Obama among others speaking to Ray Bradbury's influence, after his passing.

https://raybradbury.com/
Ray Bradbury's website featuring a biography, his works, fun facts, events, and other articles about him.

Brockhampton

Brockhampton advertises themselves as an all-American rap and hip-pop boyband. The group consists of not only the vocal members, but the others that contribute to photography, as producers, and the designers. Currently the vocal members of the group are Matt Champion, Merlyn Wood, Dom McLennon, Joba, and Bearface. I enjoy and have attended many Brockhampton concerts because they are such an original group and as they say - ‘the best boyband since one direction.’ Their most recent album came out last year with more and more people discovering their music through social media and have recently been rising to the top of the charts. Brockhampton has a diversity of styles and people that make for the perfect mixture of songs that are catchy and also relatable. Each of the members complement each other with their energy, voices, and backgrounds.  

'live concert' joannahearts

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/01/arts/music/brockhampton-iridescence-billboard.html
'Brockhampton Marks Its Mainstream Arrival With A No. 1 Album'
New York Times wrote an article recently about Brockhampton's album "Iridescence." This album really marks the time when they started rising to the tops of the charts. Before, they were a starting group of individual songwriters and producers that came together and now more popular than ever. 

http://brckhmptn.com/
Brockhampton.com
Shop, browse, and stay connected with updates and new singles. Here is their official website that you can find all their social medias from youtube, instagram, twitter, and spotify.
Please note - there can be explicit content on this page

https://thevarsity.ca/2020/01/12/concert-review-brockhamptons-heaven-belongs-to-you-tour/
The Varsity reviews Brockhampton's most recent world tour
Their most recent tour "Heaven Belongs to You" was recently (in the last month) reviewed. Read about their setlist and opening headliner to the stage design and lighting. This talks about their diverse fan base and vibrant energy of the venues.