Wu-Tang Clan http://www.bmi.com/affiliate/rss/C825 This BMI RSS feed contains news articles, events, and musicworld articles for a specific affiliate or group. en affiliates@bmi.com Copyright 2008 2008-11-19T19:24:00-05:00 The Eagles Lead BMI Nominees for 2008 American Music Awards http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/537399 Daughtry, Brooks & Dunn, Brown, Chris, Carey, Mariah, Casting Crowns, Eagles, The, Foo Fighters, Juanes, Kid Rock, Linkin Park, Rascal Flatts, Rihanna, Sugarland, Swift, Taylor, Three 6 Mafia, Underwood, Carrie, West, Kanye, Wu-Tang Clan, Country, Pop, Rock, Urban Venerable rock legends the Eagles lead the BMI charge of the recently announced American Music Award nominees. With four nominations encompassing Artist of the Year, Favorite Band, Favorite Album, and Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist, the Eagles leave no doubt of their sustained artistic dominance.

  • The Eagles
  • Chris Brown
  • Lil Wayne

BMI trendsetters Lil Wayne and Chris Brown each garnered three nods. Wayne’s chart-topping year resulted in Rap/Hip-Hop Music Favorite Male Artist and Favorite Album nominations, along with a slot in the multi-genre Artist of the Year list. Brown’s star has enjoyed a meteoric rise, reflected in his Pop/Rock Music Favorite Male Artist, Soul/Rhythm & Blues Music Favorite Male Artist, and overall Artist of the Year nods.

Pop/r&b siren Mariah Carey scored two nods including Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Soul/Rhythm & Blues album for E=MC2. Rihanna ties Carey’s two nominations, and will vie for the Favorite Female Pop/Rock Artist award along with the Soul/Rhythm & Blues Favorite Female Artist crown. Kanye West also garnered two nods in the Rap/Hip-Hop category: one for Favorite Male Artist and one in the genre’s Favorite Album field. Daughtry received two nominations as well in the Pop/Rock Favorite Band, Duo or Group and Adult Contemporary Favorite Artist categories. Country titans Rascal Flatts also generated two nods in the Country sphere of the awards, garnering Favorite Band, Duo or Group and Favorite Album taps. Reigning country queen Carrie Underwood also earned two Country Music nominations: her album Carnival Ride will contend for Album of the Year while Underwood is on the short list for Favorite Female Artist.

Slated for Sunday, November 3 and broadcast live on ABC at 8 p.m. EST, the ceremony will be hosted by late night guru Jimmy Kimmel. For more information about the 2008 American Music Awards, click here.

2008 BMI American Music Award Nominees
 
POP/ROCK MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist
Chris Brown
Kid Rock
 
Favorite Female Artist
Mariah Carey
Rihanna
 
Favorite Band, Duo or Group
The Eagles
Daughtry
 
Favorite Album
Long Road Out of Eden by the Eagles
 
COUNTRY MUSIC
Favorite Female Artist
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
 
Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Brooks & Dunn
Rascal Flatts
Sugarland
 
Favorite Album
Still Feels Good by Rascal Flatts
Carnival Ride by Carrie Underwood
 
RAP/HIP-HOP MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist
Lil Wayne
Kanye West
 
Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Three 6 Mafia
Wu-Tang Clan
 
Favorite Album
Tha Carter III by Lil Wayne
Graduation by Kanye West
 
SOUL/RHYTHM & BLUES MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist
Chris Brown
 
Favorite Female Artist
Rihanna
 
Favorite Album
E=MC2 by Mariah Carey
 
ALTERNATIVE ROCK MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Foo Fighters
Linkin Park
 
ADULT CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Daughtry
The Eagles
Jordin Sparks
 
LATIN MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Juanes
Wisin & Yandel
 
CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Favorite Artist
Casting Crowns
 
T-MOBILE BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
Colbie Caillat
The Jonas Brothers
 
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Lil Wayne
Chris Brown
The Eagles

]]> 2008-10-20T12:01:00-05:00 For Wu Tang Clan, It’s All in the Family http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/233468 Artists, Method Man, Rage Against the Machine, TANG, Wu-Tang Clan, Musical Styles, Urban, Musicworld, Feature

''Wu Tang is one big family,'' says Steve Rifkind, president of Loud Records. ''Them together is pure energy. It's family, it's love.''

Loud Records is the home of the New York-based rap collective Wu Tang Clan. And Wu Tang really is like a family - a very large family. Comprising nine members, the group operates as a single unit and as individual artists. Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard are Wu Tang members who have garnered acclaim as solo artists. Method Man's 1994 Tical album and Ghostface Killah's 1996 Ironman CD were both deemed artistic triumphs by many critics.

The drawback to all this individual activity is that Wu Tang itself has only released three albums since it formed in Staten Island, New York in 1993. The latest, entitled The W, was unleashed on the public this past November.

Wu Tang tracks draw their imagery from martial arts movies, stark urban life and Nation of Islam ideology. Some have placed the group in the same heady hip-hop pantheon occupied by rap trailblazers Public Enemy and N.W.A. The connection to the latter West Coast rap outfit is particularly apt since N.W.A. also served as a launching pad for numerous solo careers, including those of Dr. Dre and Ice Cube.

The W isn't nearly as groundbreaking as Wu Tang's 1993 debut album, Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers). But it is much more cohesive than the outfit's sprawling second album, a double CD effort titled Wu Tang Forever. It's also possesses a grit that's lacking in much of today's spit-shined rap.

If Wu Tang Clan is a family then RZA is like its reigning big brother. "They call me the nucleus of the group because I have a common denominator with each one of them," he recently told a reporter from the Los Angeles Times. "Before they knew each other, they definitely knew me." RZA, 29, met most of the clan while he was living in various housing projects in Staten Island. He also produces most of Wu Tang's music.

Like many families, the Wu Tang Clan has had its interpersonal problems. A few years ago, a much-ballyhooed tour with Rage Against the Machine dissipated due to internal strife that gripped the group. Ol' Dirty Bastard has had run-ins with the law and recently spent time in a halfway house. Also, Ghostface Killah had to push back the release of his second album due to serving jail time on a parole violation.

Nevertheless, Wu Tang Clan did manage to come together to record The W while living communally for three months in Los Angeles.

"I'm dealing with a group of masters here," RZA told Rolling Stone. "I don't need to call anybody else when I've got these niggas. I'm the happiest producer in the world."

]]> 2000-11-30T17:00:00-05:00 Method Man http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/233613 Artists, Method Man, TANG, Wu-Tang Clan, Musical Styles, Urban, Musicworld, Hitmaker Tical, Johnny Blaze, Johnny Dangerous, or just spell it out - M.E.T.H.O.D. Man - and you are talking about one of hip-hop’s brightest stars.

Method Man made his mark with the spotlight single “M.E.T.H.O.D. Man” on Wu-Tang Clan‘s 1993 debut album, Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers. Although still a member of Wu-Tang, Method Man made his solo debut the following year with Tical, which sold over one million copies and produced the Grammy Award-winning single “You’re All I Need,” with Mary J. Blige.

With the release of his highly anticipated sophomore album earlier this year, Tical 2000 - Judgement Day, Method Man proves that he is not just another one-hit wonder. “I called the album Judgement Day because of the fact that it’s my sophomore project and everybody’s going to weigh and compare it to the first album,” says Method Man. “Judgement Day also refers to me judging what’s out there in hip hop now.”

Method Man is not just rapping these days. He has appeared in such films as The Great White Hype, Copland and Belly. “I’m definitely trying to be serious about acting and bring something to the roles I play,” says Method Man.

And the beat is still going on for Method Man. He recently released his second album this year, Blackout, in collaboration with his partner-in-crime, Redman (a/k/a Reggie Noble), which continues to top the charts. With his rugged, street-wise presence and his ambition, Method Man will continue to make his mark on hip-hop culture.

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