In addition to their big bank accounts, these stars have big hearts. They've been giving back all year, and especially since the pandemic hit - to funds and organizations doing amazing work across the country and worldwide. We've compiled a list of the charities name-dropped on The Twenty: All About The Benjamins, so that you can find out more about these great orgs and donate what you can!

Ariana Grande:
Feeding America - https://www.feedingamerica.org/
Give Directly - https://www.givedirectly.org/
WHO's COVID-19 solidarity response fund - www.covid19responsefund.org/donate

Kanye:
Dream Center in Los Angeles - https://www.dreamcenter.org/about/
We Women Empowered - https://www.wewomenempowered.org/
‎

Jonas Brothers:
ACLU - https://action.aclu.org/give/now
Equal Justice Initiative - https://eji.org/

Ed Sheeran:
East Anglia's Children's Hospices - https://www.each.org.uk/
Rise Against Hunger - https://www.riseagainsthunger.org/

Taylor Swift:
NAACP Legal Defense fund: https://www.naacpldf.org/
Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund - https://www.cfmt.org/story/middle-tennessee-emergency-response-fund/

Post Malone:
WHO Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund - www.covid19responsefund.org/donate

Marshmello:

NAACP - https://naacp.org/
Color of Change - https://colorofchange.org/
National Bail Out - https://www.nationalbailout.org/
Know Your Rights Camp - https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/
Black Visions Collective - https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/

Shawn Mendes:
The Shawn Mendes Foundation - https://www.shawnmendesfoundation.org/

Billie Eilish:
Planned Parenthood - https://www.plannedparenthood.org/get-involved/other-ways-give

BTS:
Black Lives Matter - https://blacklivesmatter.com/
Global Relief Fund for Live Music Crews - https://www.livenationentertainment.com/crewnation/

Drake: 
National Bail Out - https://www.nationalbailout.org/

J-Lo:
Frontline Foods - https://donate.wck.org/give/279046/#!/donation/checkout
Chefs For America - https://wck.org/chefsforamerica
Feed The Frontlines NYC - https://www.feedthefrontlinesnyc.org/
Search #FuelTheFight to find an org feeding Frontline Workers near you

Pink:
City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Emergency COVID-19 Crisis Fund - https://mayorsfundla.org/covid19/

Rihanna:
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence - https://ncadv.org/donate
The Hotline - https://www.thehotline.org/get-involved/donate/

Luke Bryan:
Red Cross - www.redcross.org/
City of Hope - https://www.cityofhope.org/
Feeding America - https://www.feedingamerica.org/

Lin Manuel Miranda:
Raise Up Fund - https://raiseupfund.com/
Broadway Cares - https://broadwaycares.org/
UNIDOS - https://www.hispanicfederationunidos.org/

Blake Shelton:
Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma - https://www.regionalfoodbank.org/
To find your local food bank - https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank

Travis Scott:
LeBron James Family Foundation - https://www.lebronjamesfamilyfoundation.org/
Feeding Texas - http://www.feedingtexas.org/

Lady Gaga:
Black Lives Matter - https://blacklivesmatter.com/
NAACP Legal Defense fund: https://www.naacpldf.org/
Black Futures Lab - https://blackfutureslab.org/
Community Justice Action Fund - https://www.cjactionfund.org/
WHO Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund - www.covid19responsefund.org/donate

DJ Khaled:
We The Best foundation - https://www.djkhaledofficial.com/donate-we-the-best-foundation
MusiCares - https://www.grammy.com/musicares

Coldplay were just another spotty college band in the UK until the dropped Parachutes. Watch the story behind how it was made right here.

COLDPLAY BEGAN AS A COLLEGE GROUP IN 1996 BY SINGER CHRIS MARTIN AND GUITARIST JOHNNY BUCKLAND. HOWEVER, IT WASN’T UNTIL BASSIST GUY BERRYMAN, DRUMMER WILL CHAMPION, AND THEN-MANAGER PHIL HARVEY GOT INVOLVED THAT THE BAND STARTED TAKING SHAPE.

WHILE THEY KEPT IT RELATIVELY LOW-KEY DURING THEIR TIME IN UNIVERSITY, PLAYING MOSTLY SMALL SHOWS IN CAMDEN, IT WASN’T UNTIL THE LIMITED RELEASE OF THEIR “BROTHERS AND SISTERS” SINGLE THAT PARLOPHONE RECORDS TOOK NOTICE. COLDPLAY SIGNED A FIVE-ALBUM CONTRACT WITH PARLOPHONE IN 1999, AND THE BAND WAS READY TO START WORK ON THEIR DEBUT ALBUM.

A PERIOD OF TENSION WITHIN THE BAND OCCURRED WHILE RECORDING “THE BLUE ROOM” EP, AND CHAMPION WAS BRIEFLY FIRED FROM THE GROUP. ONCE MARTIN WAS ABLE TO BRING HIM BACK, THE BAND DECIDED TO OPERATE AS A DEMOCRACY AND WORK CREATIVELY AS A UNITED FRONT.

SESSIONS FOR THEIR DEBUT ALBUM TOOK PLACE PRIMARILY AT ROCKFIELD STUDIOS IN WALES AND AT PARR STREET STUDIOS IN LIVERPOOL. WHILE THE BAND HAD ORIGINALLY PLANNED TO FINISH THE ALBUM IN TWO WEEKS, TOURING AND PERFORMANCES CAUSED THE RECORDING PERIOD TO TAKE PLACE OVER SEVERAL MONTHS, FROM SEPTEMBER OF 1999 TO MAY OF 2000.

PRODUCER CHRIS ALLISON WORKED WITH THEM ORIGINALLY, WHICH LEAD TO THE ALBUM CUT “HIGH SPEED”. BUT IT WASN’T UNTIL KEN NELSON STEPPED IN THAT THE SESSIONS FLOURISHED. WORKING WITH NELSON, THE BAND WAS ABLE TO FINISH ALL OF THE ALBUM’S MATERIAL.

THE ALBUM’S RELEASE WAS ACCOMPANIED BY FOUR SINGLES: “DON’T PANIC”, “TROUBLE”, “SHIVER”, AND THEIR BIGGEST HIT AT THE TIME, “YELLOW”. THE SINGLE WAS A COMMERCIAL BREAKTHROUGH FOR THE BAND, REACHING NUMBER FOUR ON THE UK SINGLES CHARTS AND GIVING THE BAND SOME SERIOUS INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION. THE SONG CHARTED IN ICELAND, AUSTRALIA, AND THE U.S.

FINALLY, ON JULY 10th, 2000, “PARACHUTES” WAS RELEASED IN THE UK. IT DIDN’T REACH THE U.S. UNTIL NOVEMBER 7th, BUT BY THEN? COLDPLAY WAS ALREADY A HOUSEHOLD NAME.  BY ADDING THEIR MIXTURE OF AMBIENCE AND HONESTY TO THE POST-BRITPOP SCENE, THEY EARNED COMPARISONS TO CONTEMPORARIES LIKE RADIOHEAD. IN FACT, SOME BELIEVED THAT COLDPLAY WAS ONLY ABLE TO RISE TO THE TOP BECAUSE RADIOHEAD FANS’ ALIENATION, RESULTING FROM THEIR ELECTRONIC 2000 ALBUM, “KID A”!

“PARACHUTES” EARNED COLDPLAY A GRAMMY FOR BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM IN 2002, AS WELL AS A BRIT AWARD FOR BEST BRITISH ALBUM IN 2001. “PARACHUTES” HAS SINCE GONE ON TO BE CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BEST DEBUT ALBUMS OF ALL TIME, AND RANKED NUMBER 33 ON NME’S LIST OF THE 100 GREATEST BRITISH ALBUMS.

COLDPLAY HAVE SAID THAT “PARACHUTES” ISN’T THEIR FAVORITE, WITH CHRIS MARTIN EVEN DESCRIBING IT AS “TERRIBLE MUSIC”. BUT WITHOUT “PARACHUTES” INJECTING US WITH COLDPLAY’S “MESMERIC CHARM”, THEY WOULDN’T HAVE A 20 YEAR CAREER OF GENRE-SPANNING BRILLIANCE. FOR ITS UNDENIABLE POWER, STRONG EMPHASIS ON ATMOSPHERE AND FEELING, AND LONG STANDING LEGACY IN ENGLISH CULTURE, “PARACHUTES” BY COLDPLAY IS OUR GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK.

And then there were Foo's...after Nirvana, Dave Grohl thought he would go low-key, with the idea of starting a faceless band named after U.F.O.'s. The result? The Foo Fighter's self-titled debut, and we've got the entire story. Watch it here.

FOUNDED IN 1994 AFTER THE DISSOLUTION OF NIRVANA, DRUMMER DAVE GROHL FELT THAT CONTINUING TO MAKE MUSIC AS AN ANONYMOUS NEW BAND WITH NO PHOTOS OR ALBUM CREDITS WOULD BE A CATHARTIC WAY TO HANDLE THE DEATH OF KURT COBAIN. ORIGINALLY A SOLO PROJECT, THE NAME FOO FIGHTERS IS AN HOMAGE TO WHAT ALLIED PILOTS CALLED UFOS DURING WORLD WAR II.

GROHL DECIDED TO ENLIST THE HELP OF PRODUCER BARRETT JONES, WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY WORKED WITH NIRVANA AND THE MELVINS, AND HAD PRODUCED GROHL’S 1992 ALBUM AS LATE!: “POCKETWATCH”.

RECORDING FOR THE ALBUM BEGAN AT ROBERT LANG STUDIOS IN WASHINGTON, BEFORE OFFICIALLY TAKING PLACE AT “THE SHOP” IN ARCATA, CALIFORNIA. GROHL AND JONES CREATED THE MATERIAL FOR THE FOO FIGHTERS DEBUT OVER THE COURSE OF ONE WEEK IN OCTOBER OF NINETEEN-NINETY-FOUR. GROHL, WHO PLAYED ALL INSTRUMENTS ON THE ALBUM, WOULD RUN BETWEEN DIFFERENT ROOMS IN THE STUDIO AND LAY DOWN VARIOUS INSTRUMENTAL PARTS UNTIL FULL SONGS CAME TOGETHER.  

IN HOPES OF KEEPING HIS IDENTITY A SECRET, GROHL GAVE LIMITED CASSETTE COPIES OF THE SESSIONS TO CLOSE FRIENDS AND MUSICIANS, AS WELL AS RANDOM FANS ON THE STREET! PEARL JAM FRONTMAN EDDIE VEDDER DEBUTED TWO CUTS FROM THE SESSIONS ON HIS SELF-POLLUTION BROADCAST IN JANUARY OF 1995.

AS THE TAPES CIRCULATED AROUND THE MUSIC SCENE, RECORD LABELS EVENTUALLY CAUGHT INTEREST, WITH FOO FIGHTERS BEING OFFERED A RECORD DEAL BY CAPITOL RECORDS. IT DIDN’T HURT THAT GROHL WAS GOOD FRIENDS WITH PRESIDENT GARY GERSH, WHO WAS PART OF THE TEAM THAT RELEASED NIRVANA’’S ALBUMS AT GEFFEN RECORDS.

THE LEAD SINGLE, “THIS IS A CALL”, IS ONE OF THE FEW SONGS FOR THE ALBUM WRITTEN BY GROHL AFTER THE DISSOLUTION OF NIRVANA. GROHL WROTE IT WHILE ON HONEYMOON IN IRELAND WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND-TURNED-WIFE, PHOTOGRAPHER JENNIFER YOUNGBLOOD. THE SINGLE PEAKED AT NUMBER TWO ON THE BILLBOARD ALTERNATIVE AIRPLAY CHART, AND EARNED THE PROJECT A PERFORMANCE ON THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN. IT WAS THE START OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN GROHL AND LETTERMAN, WITH FOO FIGHTERS PERFORMING ELEVEN TIMES ON THE SHOW SINCE.

OTHER SINGLES ACCOMPANYING THE ALBUM INCLUDED “I’LL STICK AROUND” AND “BIG ME”, WHICH WAS A POP CROSSOVER HIT FOR THE BAND. IT PEAKED AT NUMBER THIRTEEN ON THE BILLBOARD HOT ONE HUNDRED, AND THE MUSIC VIDEO PARODYING MENTOS COMMERCIALS LED TO THE FAN TRADITION OF THROWING MENTOS AT THE BAND DURING LIVE SHOWS.

RELEASED ON THE 4th OF JULY 1995, WITH BUCK ROGERS’ RAY GUN EMBLAZONED ON THE COVER, FOO FIGHTERS’ SELF TITLED DEBUT CHARTED IN THE US, AUSTRALIA, CANADA AND THE UK. BY 2011, IT HAD SOLD ONE POINT FOUR MILLION UNITS IN NORTH AMERICA, THEIR SECOND BEST SELLER BEHIND THEIR 1997 FOLLOW-UP, “THE COLOR AND THE SHAPE”.

BOTH A COMMERCIAL AND CRITICAL SUCCESS, “FOO FIGHTERS” SET THE STAGE FOR DAVE GROHL TO EVENTUALLY GROW THE “FOO” PROJECT INTO A LEGITIMATE BAND,  CAPABLE OF SELLING OUT STADIUMS WHILE STILL MAINTAINING THE INTIMACY THAT FANS HAVE GRAVITATED TO FOR OVER A QUARTER OF A CENTURY.

ITS CATHARTIC INSPIRATION, POWER POP AND ROCK SENSIBILITIES, AND LONG STANDING LEGACY ALL SHOW WHY THE NINETEEN-NINETY-FIVE DEBUT BY THE FOO FIGHTERS IS THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK.

With "Theatre of Pain," The Crue estabished the template for late-eighties rock. How did they do it without imploding? Watch the whole story here.

AFTER THE EXPLOSIVE SUCCESS OF MOTLEY CRUE’S SECOND ALBUM, 1983's  “SHOUT AT THE DEVIL”, FAME BEGAN TO TAKE A SERIOUS TOLL ON THE BAND.

SONGWRITER NIKKI SIXX’S DRUG ADDICTION, AS WELL AS LEGAL TROUBLES SURROUNDING A VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE AGAINST LEAD SINGER, VINCE NEIL, SET THE STAGE FOR MOTLEY CRUE TO BE SEEN AS A LEGITIMATELY DANGEROUS GROUP THAT MIGHT IMPLODE AT ANY MOMENT. THEIR SKY-ROCKETING FAME AND MENACING PERSONA LED THEM TO NAME THEIR THIRD ALBUM, “THEATRE OF PAIN”.  AND, IN 1985, WITH THEIR RECKLESS ABANDON ON FULL DISPLAY, THE CRUE WAS READY TO START RECORDING.

THE SESSIONS FOR THE ALBUM TOOK PLACE ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY AT CHEROKEE STUDIOS AND RECORD PLANT WEST, BOTH IN HOLLYWOOD. TOM WERMAN RETURNED TO THE PRODUCER'S CHAIR FOR THE JANUARY RECORDINGS. HOWEVER, NIKKI SIXX CLAIMED--IN RETROSPECT--THAT HE DID MOST OF THE WORK ON THE ALBUM, SINCE WERMAN DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO CONTROL THE BAND OR HOW TO BUILD UPON THEIR PREVIOUS SUCCESS.

DESPITE THE CONTROVERSIES AND IN-FIGHTING SURROUNDING THE CRUE CAMP, “THEATRE OF PAIN” CAME OUT ON JUNE 21st, 1985, PEAKING AT NUMBER SIX ON THE U.S. BILLBOARD TOP TWO HUNDRED--THEIR HIGHEST CHARTING ALBUM THUS FAR.

THE ALBUM’S RELEASE WAS FOLLOWED BY TWO SINGLES: “HOME SWEET HOME” AND “SMOKIN’ IN THE BOY’S ROOM”.  THE LATTER WAS A COVER OF THE HIT NINETEEN-SEVENTY-THREE SINGLE BY BROWNSVILLE STATION AND, WITH “HOME SWEET HOME” MOTLEY CRUE SET THE METAL “POWER BALLAD” TEMPLATE THAT WAS LATER ADOPTED BY THE LIKES OF POISON AND OZZY OSBOURNE.

THESE TWO SINGLES ALSO MARKED THE BAND’S EVOLUTION AWAY FROM THE TYPICAL HAIR-METAL SOUND OF THE EIGHTIES, AND FOUND THEM PLANTING THE “GLAM METAL” FLAG, AND ESTABLISHING A NEW WAVE OF POP-INFLUENCED ROCK’N ROLL THAT WAS STILL HEAVY ENOUGH TO STRIKE FEAR INTO EVERY PARENT IN AMERICA,

WHILE NIKKI SIXX AND VINCE NEIL HAVE BOTH EXPRESSED DISDAIN FOR THE ALBUM, THERE’S NO DENYING ITS SUCCESS AND INFLUENCE, BEING THE GATEWAY FOR MANY MOTLEY CRUE FANS AND LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR BANDS LIKE BON JOVI, DEF LEPPARD AND GUNS ‘N’ ROSES. 

EVENTUALLY CERTIFIED QUADRUPLE PLATINUM BY THE RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, ITS BOMBASTIC GLAM METAL, TUMULTUOUS BACKSTORY, AND UNDENIABLE REBELLIOUS SPIRIT ALL ADD UP TO WHY MOTLEY CRUE’S “THEATRE OF PAIN” IS THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK.

When Drake dropped his first proper album, "Thank Me Later,' it was the beginning of a decade of dominance. How was it made and who was behind the scenes? We'll show you.

STARTING AS AN ACTOR ON SHOWS LIKE NICKELODEON’S DEGRASSI:THE NEXT GENERATION, AUBREY DRAKE GRAHAM BEGAN HIS RAP CAREER DURING THE MID TWO-THOUSANDS. BUT IT WASN’T UNTIL YOUNG MONEY MASTERMIND LIL WAYNE SIGNED DRAKE, AND PROPELLED HIM TO NEW LEVELS OF SUCCESS WITH THE “SO FAR GONE” MIXTAPE.

“SO FAR GONE” WAS MTV’S HOTTEST MIXTAPE OF 2009 AND WAS COMPLEX’S FIFTH BEST MIXTAPE OF THE DECADE. HIT SONGS LIKE “BEST I EVER HAD” AND “SUCCESSFUL” SHOWED DRAKE’S ABILITY TO MIX HIP HOP & RNB WITH POP, AND THE STAGE WAS SET FOR DRIZZY TO BLOW THE LID OFF THE GAME WITH HIS DEBUT ALBUM.

RECORDING FOR THE ALBUM TOOK PLACE ALL OVER THE U.S. AND CANADA IN 2009 AND 2010, INCLUDING AT CHERRY BEACH STUDIOS IN TORONTO AND GLENWOOD STUDIOS IN L.A. THE ALBUM WAS A FAMILY AFFAIR, WITH LIL WAYNE AND BIRDMAN ACTING AS EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, AND LONGTIME DRAKE COLLABORATORS NOAH “40” SHEBIB & BOI-1DA PROGRAMMING MOST OF THE RECORD.

THE SPACEY PRODUCTION ACROSS THE ALBUM CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO DRAKE’S INFLUENCES LIKE KID CUDI AND KANYE WEST’S TWO THOUSAND EIGHT ALBUM “808S AND HEARTBREAK”. YE HIMSELF HAS PRODUCTION CREDS ON TWO OF THE ALBUM’s SONGS: “SHOW ME A GOOD TIME” AND THE HIT SINGLE “FIND YOUR LOVE”.

FOUR SINGLES PRECEDED THE ALBUM’S RELEASE INCLUDING“FIND YOUR LOVE”, AS WELL AS “OVER”, “MISS ME” WITH LIL WAYNE, AND “FANCY” WITH SWIZZ BEATS. ALL FOUR SINGLES BROKE THROUGH THE TOP FORTY OF THE BILLBOARD HOT ONE HUNDRED.

RELEASED ON JUNE FIFTEENTH, 2010, “THANK ME LATER” DEBUTED AT NUMBER ONE ON THE BILLBOARD TWO HUNDRED AND MADE DRAKE A HOUSEHOLD NAME. IT PROVED THAT DRAKE HAD THE TALENT TO BLEND BRAGGADOCIO WITH VULNERABILITY, AND INSPIRED COUNTLESS ARTISTS OVER THE DECADE INCLUDING TORY LANEZ, BRYSON TILLER AND POST MALONE.

IN 2013, ROLLING STONE PUT “THANK ME LATER” ON THEIR LIST OF “THE ONE HUNDRED BEST DEBUT ALBUMS OF ALL TIME”.

ITS GENRE BLENDING, HIT SINGLES, AND CONTRIBUTION TO THE HIP HOP ETHOS ALL SHOW WHY “THANK ME LATER” BY DRAKE IS THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK.

THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK BELONGS TO THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, DAVID BOWIE. WATCH THE STORY RIGHT HERE.

BOWIE HAD WORKED ON HIS PREVIOUS ALBUM “HUNKY DORY”  WITH FORMER BEATLES ENGINEER KEN SCOTT. THE SINGLE “LIFE ON MARS?” SHOWED BOWIE’S CONTINUED LOVE FOR OUTER SPACE. WITH THE NEED TO EXPAND HIS ASTRONOMICAL VISION, THE CHARACTER ZIGGY STARDUST WAS BORN.

RUMORS STILL SPECULATE ABOUT WHERE BOWIE GOT THE IDEA FOR ZIGGY. POSSIBLE POINTS OF INSPIRATION INCLUDE STOOGES FRONTMAN IGGY POP, BRITISH SINGER VINCE TAYLOR, AND PSYCHOBILLY VISIONARY THE LEGENDARY STARDUST COWBOY. EVEN AN OLD TAILOR’S SHOP NAMED ZIGGY’S HAS BEEN CITED AS AN INFLUENCE.

RECORDING FOR “ZIGGY’S” ALBUM TOOK PLACE AT TRIDENT STUDIOS IN LONDON. WITH SCOTT ON AS ENGINEER, BOWIE WAS JOINED BY HIS BACKING BAND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, COMPOSED OF MULTI-INSTRUMENTALISTS MICK RONSON & TREVOR BOLDER & DRUMMER MICK “WOODY” WOODMANSEY.

THE ALBUM’S RELEASE WAS PRECEDED BY TWO SINGLES: “ROCK N ROLL SUICIDE” AND “STARMAN”. RECORDED BECAUSE RCA RECORDS THOUGHT THE ALBUM NEEDED A RADIO HIT, “STARMAN” WAS PERFORMED LIVE ON TOP OF THE POPS AND MADE IT TO THE TOP TEN UK SINGLES CHARTS. IT ALSO HELPED SET THE STAGE FOR “ZIGGY STARDUST” TO DEBUT AT NUMBER FIVE.

RELEASED ON JUNE SIXTEENTH, NINETEEN-SEVENTY-TWO, “THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS” IS A CONCEPT ALBUM ABOUT A FICTIONAL ROCKSTAR WHO CAN TALK TO ALIENS. IT’S CONSIDERED TO BE THE MAGNUM OPUS OF GLAM ROCK., AND BOWIE’S ANDROGYNOUS CHARACTER SPARKED A NEW SEXUAL REVOLUTION IN ROCK N ROLL.

WHILE ZIGGY STARDUST PROPELLED BOWIE TO NEW LEVELS OF STARDOM, HE SOON GREW BORED WITH THE PERSONA, AND SHIFTED TO A NEW CHARACTER, ALADDIN SANE, ONLY A YEAR LATER.

IN TWENTY-SEVENTEEN “THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST” WAS SELECTED FOR PRESERVATION IN THE NATIONAL RECORDING REGISTRY FOR ITS HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE.

FOR ITS LONG STANDING LEGACY, GENERATION-DEFINING GLAM ROCK, AND TRAGICALLY BEAUTIFUL HOMAGE TO ALL THINGS EXTRATERRESTRIAL... DAVID BOWIE’S “THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS” IS THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK.

THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK… “THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL”...AS MS. HILL CELEBRATES HER 45 BIRTHDAY. WATCH THE INSIDE STORY HERE!

HILL FIRST BECAME A STAR AS THE FEMALE MC OF THE THE FUGEES, ALONGSIDE WYCLEF JEAN AND PRODUCER PRAS MICHEL. THEIR SOPHOMORE ALBUM “THE SCORE” WAS A GAME-CHANGING COMMERCIAL SUCCESS IN 1996, CERTIFIED SIX-TIMES PLATINUM AND WINNING THE GRAMMY FOR “ALBUM OF THE YEAR.“

FIGHTING WITHIN THE GROUP CAUSED HILL TO IMMEDIATELY EMBARK ON A SOLO CAREER FOLLOWING THEIR DISBANDMENT IN 1997. A YEAR PRIOR, SHE MET ROHAN MARLEY, AND WHILE TENSION WITHIN THE FUGEES REACHED A FEVER PITCH, HILL BECAME PREGNANT WITH MARLEY’S CHILD.

PRODUCTION BEGAN ON THE ALBUM AT CHUNG KING STUDIOS IN CHINATOWN, BUT MOST OF IT WAS PRODUCED IN KINGSTON, JAMAICA AT TUFF GONG STUDIOS, FOUNDED BY ROHAN’S FATHER, REGGAE LEGEND BOB MARLEY. HILL WAS JOINED BY NEW-ARK, AN IN-STUDIO BAND FEATURING RASHEEM “KILO” PUGH, VADA NOBLES, & BROTHERS JOHARI AND TEJUMOLD NEWTON.

THE ALBUM’S NAME IS A REFERENCE TO THE 1974 AUTOBIOGRAPHY TURNED FILM, “THE MISEDUCATION OF SONNY CARSON”, HIGHLIGHTING THE DANGERS OF GANG LIFE, AS WELL AS THE 1933 NOVEL BY DR. CARTER G. WOODSON, “THE MISEDUCATION OF THE NEGRO”, WHICH HIGHLIGHTS HOW AFRICAN AMERICANS WERE PURPOSELY BEING MISEDUCATED IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS.

“THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL” WAS RELEASED IN 1998 AND EARNED HILL 10 GRAMMY NOMS, THE MOST OF ANY FEMALE ARTIST IN A SINGLE YEAR AT THE TIME. SHE WON FIVE, INCLUDING ALBUM OF THE YEAR, MAKING IT THE FIRST HIP HOP ALBUM TO RECEIVE THIS AWARD. IT SPAWNED THREE CHART-TOPPING SINGLES: “DOO-WOP (THAT THING)”, “EX-FACTOR”, AND “EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING”.

OF COURSE, NOT EVERYTHING WAS SUNNY FOR MS. HILL. NEW-ARK FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST HER AND COLUMBIA RECORDS, CLAIMING THEY WERE PRESSURED TO “DO THE PRINCE THING” AND TAKE NO SONGWRITING OR PRODUCTION CREDITS—AND COLUMBIA LAID THE BLAME WITH SQUARELY WITH HILL. A FIVE-MILLION-DOLLAR LAWSUIT WAS SETTLED OUT OF COURT…, AND THE DRAMA SURROUNDING THE ALBUM’S PRODUCTION AND AFTERMATH STILL HANGS HEAVY IN THE HIP HOP WORLD.

OVER TWO DECADES AFTER ITS RELEASE, THE AFTERSHOCKS OF LAURYN HILL’S SOLO OPUS CAN STILL BE FELT IN POPULAR MUSIC, AND HAS INFLUENCED AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF HIP HOP AND R&B ARTISTS.

ITS LONG-TIME INFLUENCE, DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF BLACK FEMINISM, AND MASTERY OF HIP HOP, R&B AND REGGAE, ALL GO TO SHOW WHY “THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL” IS THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK.

THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER…THIS WEEK……”MER DE NOMS,’ THE DEBUT FROM A PERFECT CIRCLE, RELEASED TWENTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK. WATCH THE STORY HERE!

A PERFECT CIRCLE WAS CONCEIVED BY BILLY HOWERDEL…WHO WORKED AS A GUITAR TECHNICIAN FOR NINE INCH NAILS, SMASHING PUMPKINS…AND….TOOL. THAT’S WHEN HE MET MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN, TOOL’S FRONTMAN.

HOWERDEL EVENTUALLY MOVED INTO MAYNARD’S NORTH HOLLYWOOD HOME, WHERE HE SHARED A FEW DEMOS. MAYNARD SAID, “I CAN HEAR MYSELF SINGING THOSE SONGS.” …AND A PERFECT CIRCLE WAS BORN.

THE BAND CONSISTED OF HOWERDEL AND MAYNARD, AS WELL AS BASSIST AND VIOLINIST PAZ LENCHANTIN, FORMER FAILURE GUITARIST TROY VAN LEEUWEN, AND DRUMMER JOSH FREEZE, FRESH FROM WORKING ON THE GUNS N ROSES ALBUM “CHINESE DEMOCRACY.”

THEY MADE THEIR LIVE DEBUT AT THE VIPER ROOM IN L.A., IN 1999, FOLLOWED BY AN APPEARANCE AT COACHELLA, AND PLANS FOR RECORDING FRIST ALBUM WERE WELL UNDERWAY.

MOST OF THE ALBUM’S LYRICS WERE DEDICATED TO VARIOUS PEOPLE THAT MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN ACTUALLY KNEW—REFLECTED IN SONG TITLES SUCH AS “JUDITH,” “ROSE,” “THOMAS,” AND ‘MAGDALENA.”  AND THEY TITLED THE ALBUM, “MER DE NOMS,’ WHICH IS FRENCH FOR “SEA OF NAMES.”

PRIOR TO ITS RELEASE, A PERFECT CIRLE EMBARKED ON A TOUR WITH NINE INCH NAILS, AND THE ALBUM OFFICIALLY DROPPED ON MAY TWENTY-THIRD, TWO-THOUSAND. IT HIT THE CHARTS AT NUMBER-FOUR--WHICH WAS THE HIGHEST DEBUT EVER FOR A ROCK BAND—AND IT WENT PLATINUM BY OCTOBER, STAYING ON THE CHARTS FOR 51 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS.

NME, AMONG OTHERS, PRAISED THE ALBUM, SAYING “A PERFECT CIRLCE HAVE CREATED A WORK OF MORBID BEAUTY. IN TERMS OF DARKNESS, IT ECLIPSES NEARLY EVERYTHING ELSE.”

AND THAT’S WHY “MER DE NOMS’ IS OUR GREATEST ALBUM EVER…THIS WEEK.

Our Curator's Picks for the Top Upcoming Events:

Music Lives! Although the pandemic has shut down traditional concert options, some of our favorite artists are delivering intimate home-performances. See below, for our favorite ongoing events.

(Meanwhile, LiveXLive is here for you 24/7, to fill your social isolation with millions of songs, hundreds of curated stations, and exclusive video interviews and performances for FREE)

ON-GOING EVENTS