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Emmanuel Jal

Emmanuel Jal (born c. 1980) is a Sudanese musician and former child soldier. Born in the village of Tonj in Southern Sudan, he was a little boy when the civil war broke out. Emmanuel’s father joined the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and when he was about seven years old his mother died. Emmanuel then decided to join the thousands of children travelling to Ethiopia who had been told that they could be educated there.

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Atmosphere

There are, at least, four artists known as Atmosphere: 1) An American alternative rap band. 2) A Polish rock band. 3) An Italian disco group. 4) A Vietnamese metal band. 1) The Minnesota underground hip-hop group was formed around 1994. At its creation, the group was called "Urban Atmosphere". Unlike many hip hop groups, Atmosphere provides its own live instrumentation, usually consisting of bass guitar and drums.

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GYM CLASS HEROES

The original Gym Class Heroes formed in 1997 when Travis "Schleprok" McCoy and drummer Matt McGinley became friends during physical education class while at high school in Geneva, New York, US and joined forces with guitarist Milo Bonacci and bassist Ryan Geise.

The original GCH began playing birthday parties, clubs, and festivals which eventually led to numerous larger venues throughout the northeast, including four years on Warped Tour (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008). During this time, GCH released four self-produced CDs: "Hed Candy" (1999), "Greasy Kids Stuff" (2000), "For the Kids" (2001) and "Papercut Chronicles EP" (2004).

"As cruel as School Children" was released on July 25, 2006. A second version of the album, released on November 4, 2006 additionally contains the single "Cupid's Chokehold"

After the release of "For the Kids", lead singer Travis McCoy won MTV's Direct Effect MC Battle and as a prize, he appeared in Styles P's video "Daddy Get That Cash".

The current configuration of GCH formed as guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo joined in late 2004, with bassist Eric Roberts joining in mid 2005.

After hearing the song "Taxi Driver", Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy invited the band to one of his shows. Gym Class Heroes then went on to join Pete Wentz's label, Decaydance Records, an imprint of Fueled by Ramen. Travis later said that Stump's support, coupled with the label's touring ethos and family atmosphere, led the band to signing with Decaydance/Fueled by Ramen.

Gym Class Heroes appeared on the Warped Tour in the summer of 2005 and 2006. The band completed their leg of a tour with The All-American Rejects on Nov. 29 in Las Vegas.

Their recent hit "Clothes Off" reached the No# 3 spot in the uk top 40 charts.

Lead singer Travis McCoy is currently working on a side project called Tequila Mockingbird with Nick Scimeca and is due out sometime early next year.

In mid-September 2008, Gym Class Heroes put out their album, "The Quilt". It was recorded during their late 2007 tour with Fall Out Boy and Plain White T's, "Young Wild Things". Soon after toured with Lil' Wayne on his "I Am Music" tour (late 2008).

The next album will be titled The Papercut Chronicles 2. The Stereo Hearts Songfacts reports that the first single from the album, "Stereo Hearts," features Maroon 5 frontman and The Voice coach Adam Levine on the chorus. It was released for download on iTunes on June 14, 2011 and also sent to all radio stations around the world the same day.

Travis McCoy is currently on a humanitarian trip across the globe to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS and how to prevent it. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

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Plan B

There is more than one artist with this name: 1.) Plan B (real name Ben Drew, b. 1983) is a rapper from Forest Gate, London. From the age of 11 he attended Anglo European School in Ingatestone Essex, before transfering to Tom Hood, an inner-city comprehensive. He has described his character, in these school days, as "a bit of a cunt". He is signed to 679 Recordings, home to UK rap act The Streets. His unique sound is characterised by his use of acoustic beats and lyrics involving drugs, rape, murder and underage sex. He was placed fourth in the BBC's "Sound of 2006" competition.

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Mayer Hawthorne

Mayer Hawthorne (real name Andrew Mayer Cohen) grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and vividly remembers, as a child, driving with his father and tuning the car radio in to the rich soul and jazz history the region provided. “Most of the best music ever made came out of Detroit,” claims the singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, who counts Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, and Barry White among his influences, but draws the most inspiration from the music of Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield and the legendary songwriting and production trio of Lamont Dozier...

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Xzibit

Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974 in Detroit, Michigan), better known by his stage name Xzibit, is an American rapper, actor, and host of MTV's Pimp My Ride. He began his music career as a member of the Likwit Crew, a loose collective of West Coast rappers including King Tee, Defari, and Tha Alkaholiks. He released his solo debut album 'At The Speed Of Life' in 1996 and has since released 5 more albums, his latest being Full Circle, released in 2006. His new album MMX is expected to be released sometime in 2011.

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Theophilus London

Theophilus London is a Brooklyn, USA based hip hop artist with heavy electro influences. London released his debut mixtape JAM! in 2008. In 2009 he collaborated with Machine Drum for his second mixtape This Charming Mixtape which brought London to a wider audience. In 2010 London released the mixtape I Want You which features covers of classic songs. London's track Flying Overseas (featuring Devonté Hynes and Solange Knowles) enjoyed popularity with music bloggers in November 2010. Most of London's music can be downloaded from his blog: http://theophiluslondon.

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Lyrics Born

Lyrics Born (a.k.a. Asia Born) is Tom Shimura (b. 1972), originally from Berkeley, California, though through his childhood he lived in Tokyo, Japan, and Salt Lake City, Utah. He began his hip hop career while at college at UC Davis, where he was a DJ at the college station KDVS. He is a founding member of the group of artists known as Quannum Projects. He is also one half of the group Latyrx with fellow MC Lateef The Truth Speaker.

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