Gorillaz

All artwork and promotional videos are created by Zombie Flesh Eaters (Hewlett's own company) and Passion Pictures. They headlined a bill that included a star-studded cast of who's who in hip hop, including Kanye West, Common, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and others. The list of integral performers in the group are likely to change drastically for the second album, with the exception of Damon Albarn himself. The three Fugees were reunited on September 18, 2004 at Dave Chappelle's Block Party in Brooklyn, New York. Some are still under speculation and can be considered pseudonyms; for instance, Damon has said that he is solely responsible for 2D's speaking and singing voices, whereas Dan Left Hand is a pseudonym for Dan The Automator. Hill's nickname is "L-boogie.". During the "hidden" credits to the DVD Phase One: Celebrity Take Down, it states the names of the creators, the voice talents and those responsible for performing live. A fourth child was born in 2003.

In actual fact, the only permanent member behind the music happens to be Damon Albarn. Hill has four children by her husband, retired (American) football player Rohan Marley, son of the late reggae artist, Bob Marley: Zion David Marley, born 1997, Selah Louise Marley, born 1998, and second son Joshua, born 2002. In the half-hour TV mockumentary entitled Charts Of Darkness, it was explicitly stated that Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett were behind the project; quoting Albarn, "There could be fifty [people] here, but there's two." Many fans have simply assumed that the guest artists in the liner notes (including Cibo Matto vocalist Miho Hatori and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien) complete the band. Two days later Pope John Paul II told a group of Bishops from Sudan that, "Scandalous behavior must at all times be investigated, confronted and corrected" in the Catholic Church. There have been waves of controversy surrounding who is actually behind Gorillaz ever since the first single was released. Among those in attendance were Edmund Cardinal Szoka, American-born President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City, and President of the Governatorate of Vatican City. Here are just a few of the films they reference in their photos and videos:. On December 13, 2003, Hill shocked officials at the Vatican by denouncing them for "corruption, exploitation, and abuses," apparently in reference to allegations of the child molestation of boys by Catholic officials in the United States of America and the cover-up of offenses by Catholic Church officials.

Most of Gorillaz's fanbase have rented and/or bought these films. Hill released an MTV Unplugged album laced with verbal interludes in 2002 to mixed reviews. The band's art is deeply rooted in horror film imagery and ideals. Though a Fugees reunion was discussed by all of the members of the group, it has not yet happened, reportedly due to conflicts between the three Fugees, including a much-rumored feud between Hill and Wyclef Jean. For their first tour of the United States, two screens were used; one was simply the animatics, while the second, lower screen displayed the band's silhouettes along with various quotes from interviews. [1] (http://www.snopes.com/quotes/lauryn.htm). Videos, animatics and image collages are projected onto the audience side of the screen, while choreographed lights behind the screen light up silhouettes of the physical band, creating a meld of the physical and animated. This is considered unlikely, however, as no recording could be found of the supposed incident.

At all performances, the physical band plays behind a specially designed screen which covers the stage area. In 1996, a call to the Howard Stern radio show stated that the caller heard Hill say "I would rather die than have a white person buy one of my albums" during an MTV interview. The song from the website, Rock It, will not be on the album. In 1999 Ebony magazine named her one of "100+ Most Influential Black Americans.". are known to be on the new release. and others among the "10 For Tomorrow," in the EBONY 2000: Special Millennium Issue. Dirty Harry, Kids With Guns, and Feel Good Inc. She was named with Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.

It is now known as "Demon Days" Some track names have been revealed as well. In 1999 Hill received three awards at the 30th Annual NAACP Image Awards held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California. The name of the album has been reported to be "We Are Happy Landfill", but this has also been changed. Hill is noted as a humanitarian, and in 1996 she received an Essence Award for work which has included the 1996 founding of the Refugee Project, an outreach organization that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk youth, and for supporting well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, as well as for staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. This was later changed to May. They received an undisclosed amount of money and were given credit for drum programming and a small amount of lyrical, instrumental and production work. It was first reported to be coming in March 2005. Soon after, Hill and her recording company were sued by Vada Nobles, Rasheem Pugh, Johari Newton and Tejumold Newton, known as "New Ark Entertainment," who claimed to have been denied full credit and compensation for their assistance on the album.

Since then, some information about the new album has gotten out. Woodson's book, The Miseducation of the Negro. It has been revealed that a log in system will be added to the website in the near future, according to Gorillaz-Unofficial (http://www.gorillaz-unofficial.com). The album's title was inspired by Carter G. A contest was also announced which allowed fans to send in a minute-long video or audio they had made; the prize included collaborating with the band in some way, shape or form and getting their own room in the newly rebuilt Kong Studios. Among the singles on the album was "Doo Wop (That Thing)." In 1999's Grammy Awards, Hill was nominated eleven times and won Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, setting a new record for a female performer. On December 8th, 2004, the website reopened with the announcement of a new album on the way, including production by DJ Danger Mouse and guest appearances by De La Soul. In 1998, Hill released The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, a critical smash hit that ended up on numerous best-of lists for the year, decade and all time.

Rumours were circulating around this time that Gorillaz were busy preparing a film, though nothing has surfaced. She appeared as a singer in the soundtracks for Conspiracy Theory in 1997 on the track, "Can't take My Eyes Off of You," and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood in 2001 on the "Selah" track. The DVD contains all five videos (including the abandoned video "5/4"), the "Charts Of Darkness" documentary, the five Gorilla Bites (short vignettes), a tour of the website by the MEL 9000 server and much more. Hill's other acting work includes the television series "King of the Hill" (as "Arletta the Elevator Operator"), the play "Club 127," and the motion pictures Hav Plenty (1997) and Restaurant (1998). The building was in shambles and it turned out that the band had fled to Hollywood to escape whomever or whatever that was trying to attack them. November saw the release of the DVD Phase One: Celebrity Take Down which features an abandoned 3D Kong Studios (only eight rooms, including the lobby, are accessible.) If someone waits in a room longer than a minute, zombie hands will appear and grab the viewer; in some instances, a nude man is seen laughing maniacally. This was followed by The Score, a multi-platinum selling album that established all three Fugees (Hill, Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean) as international successes. On October 30th, 2002, as the band was passing into global obscurity, Kong Studios was closed by police, stating that a domestic disturbance involving a running nude man was reported at the site. The Fugees' first album, Blunted on Reality, was much-hyped but fell far short of expectations.

The single to follow, Lil' Dub Chefin' (M1 A1), contained an original track by the Spacemonkeyz titled "Spacemonkeyz Theme". Though the Fugees had originally formed in 1988, Hill's membership was disrupted by her acting and her education at Columbia University. The record was credited to Spacemonkeyz VS Gorillaz, containing most of the album reworked by Spacemonkeyz. Her acting roles included the TV show As the World Turns (as "Kira Johnson" in 1991), and the film Sister Act II: Back in the Habit, the latter of which showcased her vocal abilities. The dub remix album Laika Come Home was released in June. She was born in South Orange, New Jersey and began singing and acting at a very young age. The end of the year brought 911, a collaboration with rap artists D12 (sans Eminem) about the September 11, 2001 attacks, along with the announcement of G-Sides, a compilation of the b-sides from the first three singles. The new year also saw a spectacular performance at the 2002 BRIT awards, featuring the band in 3D, weaving in and out of each other on four large screens along with rap accompaniment by Phi Life Cypher. Lauryn Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American hip hop singer, initially establishing her reputation as the most visible and vocal member of The Fugees.

The special also interviews Rachel of S Club 7 fame and a few of the band's voice talents, who had been given roles to play. Download sample (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/LaurynHillRedemptionSong.ogg) of Hill covering Bob Marley's "Redemption Song". Around this time, a half-hour TV mockumentary entitled Charts Of Darkness was released, which follows Channel 4 news reporter Krishnan Guru-Murthy attempting to track down Damon and Jamie after they were placed in an insane asylum. The only time the video for "Tomorrow Comes Today" was played in the States was when Toonami broadcasted a "Midnight Run" special where they played animated music videos from Gorillaz, Daft Punk, and Kenna. Each of the videos contained humorous and often ridiculous storylines and imagery, though "Clint Eastwood" and "19-2000" were the only singles to break through the American music scene.

Later that same month, their first full-length, the self-titled Gorillaz was released, producing four singles: "Clint Eastwood", "19-2000", "Rock The House" and "Tomorrow Comes Today". Due to this, the band's Hotmail accounts were abandoned (and later hacked) and the inboxes on the site were never updated. The blend of raw hip-hop, cheesy horror music and a haunting melodica solo struck chords around the world, thrusting Gorillaz into the global limelight. The Clint Eastwood single was released at the start of March, 2002.

Because of the nature of the site, an official fansite was created to hold the standard band website information, including a discography, touring schedules and more. Each member also had their own computer which contained pictures, sound bites from various takes of songs and their e-mail inboxes. Each room also had bonus surprises and games to play: for example, the lobby had a remix machine, the cafeteria contained the messageboard on the wall and Murdoc's Winnebago (http://www.murdocswinnebago.com/) (accessible only by using the enhanced section of Gorillaz, later stolen and found in the United States) contained a voodoo doll of 2D. The band's website, a literal orgy of Macromedia Flash, was a representation of Kong Studios in the fullest sense of the word: inside, you could browse through each member's bedrooms, their recording environment and even the hallways and bathrooms.

The EP and video followed suit a few months afterward, generating a lot of word-of-mouth advertising, as well as a large shroud of mystery over who was behind Gorillaz and what they were to expect in the months to come. The first single for the band was Tomorrow Comes Today, which was very well received in the UK underground music scene. Gorillaz have earned the Guinness World Record for being the Most Successful Virtual Band (http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/gwr5/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=57561). There are also some rather obscure references made to people and things such as Tom Savini, Looney Tunes and the band Swell Maps, to name a few.

Romero films and horror film locations stated on highway sign posts in the promotional video for "19-2000". Matter-of-fact references to horror films are everywhere, including samples from George A. Gorillaz was created by Damon Albarn (of Blur) and Jamie Hewlett (of Tank Girl fame) and was based on their interests, dreams and fears. The band live in the also-fictitious Kong Studios, high upon a mountain in the centre of a cemetery in Essex.

Gorillaz have a dark and humorous backstory, which involves Murdoc inadvertently putting 2D into and out of a coma while trying to steal keyboards, Russel and his family re-rooting in England from New York due to Russel being on the wrong end of a drive-by shooting and Noodle's arrival in a FedEx crate from Japan. Gorillaz is an animated hip-pop collective or supergroup, comprised of four animated band members: 2D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc (bass), Noodle (guitars) and Russel (drums, percussion). Rock It (12/08/2004). Lil' Dub Chefin' (M1 A1) (07/22/2002).

911 (CM-size edit) (12/07/2001). Rock The House (10/22/2001). 19-2000 (06/25/2001). Clint Eastwood (03/05/2001).

Tomorrow Comes Today (11/27/2000). Feel Good Inc CDS (2005). Dirty Harry 12" (2005). Phase One: Celebrity Take Down DVD (2002).

Lil' Dub Chefin' (M1 A1) CDS (2002). Laika Come Home (2002). Tomorrow Comes Today CDS/DVDS (2002). G-Sides EP (2002).

911 12" (2001). Rock The House CDS (2001). 19-2000 CDS (2001). Clint Eastwood CDS (2001).

Tomorrow Comes Today EP (2000). Demon Days (2005). Gorillaz (2001). Cass Browne - Drummer.

Roberto Occhipinti - Bass. Dan Left Hand - Bass. Simon Katz - Guitar. Haruka Kuroda - Vocals (Noodle).

Damon Albarn - Vocals (2D). Remi Kabaka - Russel (voice). Haruka Kuroda - Noodle (voice). Phil Cornwell - Murdoc (voice).

Nelson De Freitas - 2D (voice). The Shining. Psycho. Nosferatu.

Night of the Living Dead. The Exorcist. Friday The 13th. Dracula (1931).

Day of the Dead. Dawn of the Dead (1978).