Yesterday was March 9, and as is tradition, Hip Hop flocked to social media and the streets in droves to celebrate the life of one Christopher Wallace, better known as Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, who was slain in 1997; his killer has yet to be brought to justice.
Since then a plethora of emcees from Biggies native home of Brooklyn have risen to prominence, from the inevitable rise of guys like Jay Z and Fabolous, to members of a younger generation, like Joey Bada$$, who released a tribute track to the fallen rapper last night via a debut on Beats1 radio. You can stream the song, Brooklyns Own, below, and enjoy production from Statik Selektah, who also produced Joeys February drop, Ready.
A photo posted by OKC (@waiters3) on Mar 8, 2016 at 7:37pm PST
waiters3: The call I just got about my lil brother wasn"t expecting this s--t.....crushed my heart I never question why.... But this hurt.... I promise I got Yu mark my word..... Love Yu kid.. r.i.p
Steve Keely of Fox 29 in Philadelphia is reporting that Waiters" younger brother was one of six people murdered in the city on Tuesday.
At this time, no arrests have been made in any of the shootings.
Hospital wards across Wales are being shut to the public following an outbreak of flu and the winter vomiting bug norovirus, health boards have confirmed.
Anyone suffering from the norovirus is being urged to stay away from hospital to avoid making the problems worse.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board says it is managing a significant number of cases of diarrhoea, vomiting and influenza in the region.
Eleven wards affected
Nine wards at the University Hospital of Wales and two at University Hospital Llandough are currently affected by the outbreak.
A spokesman for the health board said two wards are currently closed to new admissions but are expected to reopen on Thursday.
Only a maximum of two family members will be allowed to see patients at both hospital sites.
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg UHB said wards have also been shut at both the Princess of Wales and Morriston Hospitals in recent weeks due to the outbreak.
Rad more: Advice for parents as the number of Norovirus cases increases in Wales
University Hospital Llandough
Dr Eleri Davies, the director for infection prevention and control at Cardiff and the Vale, said that while norovirus is in general an unpleasant 48 hour illness for most, it can be more serious for those already in hospital.
She said: We are now seeing diarrhoea and vomiting infections in the community, with some infections also confirmed in the hospitals, this inevitably leads to some instances of ward closures.
It is very difficult to stop the spread of norovirus once it is in hospital so we are asking the public to help support us by restricting visiting to what is absolutely necessary.
If you are visiting friends or family in hospital then please heed the advice at the entrances to wards and practice good hand hygiene.
Avoid accident and emergency
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg UHB said wards have also been shut at both the Princess of Wales and Morriston Hospitals in recent weeks due to the outbreak.
A spokeswoman urged anyone who has suffered from sickness or diarrhoea not to visit patients in hospitals for at least two days.
Wales Chief Medical Officer Dr Ruth Hussey is urging people to seek advice from the NHS Direct Wales telephone service about managing norovirus or to contact their pharmacist or GP about flu-like symptoms instead of visiting accident and emergency departments.
Emergency departments and the Welsh Ambulance Service say they continue to experience significant peaks in demand attendances have peaked at 25% higher than the average daily number so far this year.
Dr Hussey said: GPs across Wales have seen a growing number of people with the winter vomiting bug or flu-like symptoms as well as an increase in respiratory conditions following the recent cold snap.
This has created an increased demand for urgent GP appointments and may have made it difficult to book planned appointments.
Hospital staff are reporting an increase in norovirus and flu on wards. We are asking people not to visit friends or relatives in hospital if they have experienced any sickness or diarrhoea in the last 48 hours.
Norovirus is highly contagious and can spread rapidly, just like flu, and some hospital patients could be particularly vulnerable.
Advice and information is available through NHS Direct on 0845 46 47, in pharmacies and through the Choose Pharmacy minor ailments scheme which includes prescriptions for certain conditions.
Use a different NHS service
There has been an increase in the number of Norovirus cases in Wales, but public health officials say that it is to be expected at this time of the year.
People across Wales are being urged to choose well by using the right NHS service for their needs.
These include:
Self care taking care of yourself if you have conditions such as a cough, sore throat, grazed knee, other minor issues
GP or out of hours services for vomiting, ear pain/hearing loss, painful cough, symptoms that wont go away
Community pharmacists for diarrhoea, runny nose, upset stomach, headache
Opticians problems with eyes
Minor Injury units for cuts, sprains, bites, minor illnesses or injuries
Dr Marion Lyons, Director of Health Protection for Public Health Wales said: Norovirus typically causes vomiting and diarrhoea and sometimes a fever, headache and aching limbs.
It usually improves within two days without requiring any treatment, and anyone who has had vomiting or diarrhoea should not return to work or school for 48 hours after their last symptoms.
Marshawn Lynch and Jerod Mayo also called it quits before their 30th birthdays this offseason.
Last offseason, the NFL world was rocked when a slew of players decided to retire early rather than continue on with their careers. That pattern is continuing this year.
After two months of rumors, Detroit Lions star receiver Calvin Johnson officially retired on Tuesday before the new league year began. Johnson said he was "at peace with" his decision to retire at age 30 following a prolific career.
Last month, running back Marshawn Lynch announced his retirement during the Super Bowl and linebacker Jerod Mayo posted on Instagram about hisdecision to hang it up as well. Though their retirements aren"t completely analogous to Chris Borland, the former San Francisco 49ers linebacker who walked away last spring after his rookie season, their decisions serve asa reminder that an increasing number of football players are now opting to quit a couple of years too early rather than a couple of years too late.
There"s little doubt Lynch would"ve had multiple suitors in free agency. Even though he missed nine games this season due to injury, the 29-year-old running back is just one year removed from a 1,300-yard campaign. Lynch"s days as an All-Pro were probably behind him, but he almost certainly could"ve stretched out his career a couple of more seasons. He just didn"t want to.
Mayo, who turned 30 on Feb. 23, likely would"ve had to fight his way onto a roster, considering he"s ended each of the last three seasons on injured reserve. But the two-time Pro Bowler was a bruising force at middle linebacker in his prime, recording a career-high 114 tackles in 2010. If Mayo wanted to go through the rigors of another training camp, the opportunity probably would"ve beenthere for him.
But like Lynch, Mayo decided to walk away on his own terms. Johnson, who was owed nearly $16 million, dealt with nagging injuries but was still just a few years removed from totaling an NFL-record 1,964 receiving yards in a single season. Despite showing up frequently on the injury report, Johnson played in all 16 games in 2015 and led the Lions with 1,214yards and nine touchdown receptions.
It"s been 14 years since forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu posthumously diagnosed Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain condition known as CTE. More than a decade later, the evidence that links playing football to brain damage is indisputable. Boston University researchers have now discovered CTE in 90 out of 94 brains that deceased former players have donated to the school"s CTE center.
Almost every decision in life comes to down to a risk/reward proposition. And for some NFL stars, the option of continuing their careers just doesn"t seem to be worth it.
"I mean, if it could potentially kill you -- I know that"s a drastic way to put it, but it is a possibility -- that really puts it in perspective to me," Borland said to ESPN"s Outside the Lines last year. "To me, it just wasn"t what I wanted to do."
That"s not to say the dangers of CTE and head trauma are the driving force behind every player who chooses to retire early. Former 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis, for example, said last year hisbalky feet were the reason he decided to leave the game at 30.
Players give their all to NFL teams, often surrendering their bodies for the chance to obtain fleeting superstardom. But the league doesn"t always give back. Last April, a federal judge approved afinal settlement between the NFL and more than 20,000 ex-players who say the league masked the dangers of concussions and other injuries to them. The NFL will pay out at least $1 billion over the next 65 years, but CTE, which is mentioned 14 times in the case, isn"t covered in the agreement. NFL lawyers say the science is too inconclusive to include it.
Dr. Robert Stern, the director of clinical research for BU"s CTE center, wrote a61-page declaration opposing the settlement two years ago, saying it will deny compensation to some of the most disabled players.
Perhaps Johnson, Lynch and Mayo"s best days are past them, meaning their top earning years are behind them as well. It takes an ungodly amount of preparation to play in the NFL into your 30s, and often for diminishing paychecks.
Much like Borland, Willis, Jake Locker, Justin Smith and Jason Worilds, they decided it wasn"t worth it to keep playing.
If something happens often enough, it becomes a pattern. With star players deciding to walk away early for the second consecutive year, the NFL is close to seeing this trend become the new normal.
* * *
Beast Mode: Marshawn Lynch is too cool for the Hall of Fame
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Sem Game of Thrones?! Morte de George Martin gera confusão de fãs Story highlights
Musicians pay their tributes to Beatles producer George Martin
Martin hailed for his innovative music and changing pop culture
Ringo Starr broke the news of Martin"s passing by tweeting: "G*d bless George Martin peace and love to Judy and his family love Ringo and Barbara."
Lady Judy Martin was his wife for nearly 50 years.
He followed up with: "Thank you for all your love and kindness George."
He was followed by a tweet from the Sean Ono Lennon, son of late Beatle John Lennon, who wrote: "R.I.P. George Martin. I"m so gutted I don"t have many words. Thinking of Judy and Giles and family. Love Always, Sean."
Paul McCartney shared one of his favorite memories of Martin, who famously added a string quartet in the song "Yesterday" by gently convincing him that the arrangement could work.
Flea, co-founding member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, summed up Martin"s impact with a tweet: "Wow. People made records that were that good."
One of Martin"s most popular works is his oversight of the "Penny Lane" / "Strawberry Fields Forever" single and the album that often tops the lists of greatest ever: "Sgt. Pepper"s Lonely Hearts Club Band."
Martin"s influence extended well beyond his home in the United Kingdom, where he died Tuesday.
"Sir George Martin was a giant of music - working with the Fab Four to create the world"s most enduring pop music," tweeted UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
Martin drew tributes from contemporary pop stars to musical legends. The Recording Academy which gives out Grammy Awards, hailed him as "one of the most innovative producers of all time" and described his impact on music as "unparalleled."
Maria Sharapova Failed Drug Test vs Serena Williams Australian Open Press Conference
Maria Sharapova has called a press conference for Monday afternoon. According to ESPN, her agent referred to it as a major announcement and there is speculation she could be retiring.
Heres the details on Mondays press conference:
Date: Monday, March 7, 2016
Time: 3 p.m. Eastern (12 p.m. PST)
TV Channel: ESPN will have coverage of the press conference.
Live Stream: The above video will be a live stream of the press conference once it begins. You can also watch it on YouTube.
Preview: Sharapova has not played since losing in the Australian Open in January. She has battled injuries throughout the year, but a retirement announcement would be seen as surprising. She is ranked as the 7th player in the world. Details of the press conference have not been released aside from it being referred to as a major announcement.
George R.R. Martin Interview (Game of Thrones) - [43 mins]
Sir George Martin, the music producer whose collaboration with the Beatles helped redraw the boundaries of popular music, died Tuesday, according to his management company. He was 90.
Beatles producer Sir George Martin dead at90
Sir George Martin, the music producer whose collaboration with the Beatles helped redraw the boundaries of popular music, died Tuesday, according to his management company. He was 90.
In this story
Sir George Martin, Beatles" music producer, dies at age 90
Classically trained, he helped redefine pop culture with the Beatles
Martin produced 23 No. 1 hits in the United States
By Todd Leopold
CNN
(CNN) Sir George Martin, the music producer whose collaboration with the Beatles helped redraw the boundaries of popular music, died Tuesday, according to his management company. He was 90.
Martin died peacefully at home in England, according to Adam Sharp, the founder of C A Management which represents the music producer.
In a career that spanned seven decades he was recognized globally as one of musics most creative talents and a gentleman to the end. The family ask that their privacy be respected at this time, Sharp said.
Martin worked with countless others over a career that spanned decades, including Peter Sellers, Shirley Bassey, America, Cheap Trick, Jeff Beck and Celine Dion. But his fame, and his influence, rests on the seven years he spent with the Beatles, the most successful group in music history a group Martin helped propel to the top spot with his musical expertise, tasteful arrangements and willing experimentation.
For Paul McCartney, Martin was like a second father to me.
If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle it was George, he said in a statement. From the day that he gave The Beatles our first recording contract, to the last time I saw him, he was the most generous, intelligent and musical person Ive ever had the pleasure to know.
Ringo Starr thanked the producer in a tweet: G*d bless George Martin peace and love to Judy and his family. Judy refers to Martins wife of nearly 50 years.
Martins partnership with the group he signed to Parlophone Records in 1962 changed all of their lives and, by extension, popular culture.
When I first met the Beatles in 1962, I didnt think much of their songs at all, he told JazzWax.com. But they learned so quickly how to write a hit. They were like plants in a hothouse. They grew incredibly fast.
The polished, classically trained producer began as a father figure to the four somewhat scruffy lads from Liverpool, capturing their songs on tape with a minimum of fuss or studio gimmickry. But by 1966, he was as much a collaborator as mentor, using his knowledge of both musical structure and recording technology to help the band realize its musical visions.
Typically modest, he described his role as a producer in matter-of-fact terms.
Put simply, my job was to make sure recordings were artistically exceptional and commercially appealing, maximizing the qualities of artists and songs, he told JazzWax.com.
In Martins hands, however, that job was both expansive and unobtrusive. Songs produced by George Martin had a distinctive touch but rarely called attention to his work. The spotlight was on the music.
And yet his role cannot be overstated. Working with engineers such as Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick, Martin helped the Beatles turn the studio into another instrument.
He added a string quartet to Yesterday a decision that McCartney initially balked at, telling Martin: Oh no, George. We are a rock and roll band.
With a gentle bit of nudging, Martin added the cello in low octave and violin in high octave. His idea obviously worked because the song subsequently became one of the most recorded songs ever, McCartney said in a statement.
He allowed backward tape loops on Tomorrow Never Knows, even if he couldnt make John Lennons voice sound like chanting Tibetan monks one of Lennons characteristically absurd requests.
The work reached a pinnacle in 1967, with Martins ingenious oversight of the Penny Lane / Strawberry Fields Forever single and the album that often tops the lists of greatest ever: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.
By then, even he wondered whether the group had gone too far.
As we were getting longer and longer into the album, and more and more avant-garde, I was wondering if we were being a little over-the-top and a little bit, maybe, pretentious, Martin recalled in a 1992 documentary about Pepper. Is the public ready for this yet?
Finding odd harmony
On the surface, the contrast between the patrician-looking Martin and his long-haired musical charges couldnt have been starker. He was movie-star handsome, reserved, establishment; they were casually pretty, energetic, counterculture. He was the World War II generation; they were the ones who helped upend it.
But the two sides had a surprising amount in common. Martin came from a working-class background, as did the Beatles. Moreover, the producer was a keen fan of comedy, having worked with members of The Goon Show, such as Sellers and Spike Milligan, and produced the satirical Beyond the Fringe troupe. Their work was well known to the comedy-loving Beatles.
It was a sense of humor that may have initially bound them together. According to legend, when introduced to Martin at an audition for his record label, the producer asked the band whether there was anything they didnt like. George Harrison quickly responded, Well, for a start, I dont like your tie.
At EMIs staid Abbey Road Studios, where the studio engineers were required to wear lab coats, Martin could have easily taken offense. Instead, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
George Henry Martin was born in London on January 3, 1926. He took an interest in music from an early age, teaching himself piano and becoming enraptured by radio broadcasts of orchestras. By the time he was 15, he was running a small band, George Martin and the Four Tune Tellers.
He enlisted in the Royal Navy at 17 and served as a pilot and commissioned officer, though he managed to evade Japan, he told Rock Cellar magazine. Upon leaving the military in 1947, he enrolled in the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying piano and oboe.
After a short stint at the BBC, he joined EMI Records Parlophone label, a tiny part of the huge record conglomerate. Martin had some success he did a hit record with actor Peter Ustinov in 1952 but was still caught off-guard when he was asked to take over the label in 1955. He hadnt yet turned 30.
Parlophone was primarily focused on classical music and was forever in danger of being shut down. Martin expanded the repertoire, signing comedy acts such as the Goons and some pop singers. In a pinch, he even performed himself under assumed names.
He liked the freedom to experiment: I made a lot of what I call sound pictures with actors and comedians because it was fun to do. Im a person who gets bored quite easily, and I dont like doing the same thing over and over again, he said.
Something slightly different
Still, he had his eye on a rock n roll act, a sure entry into the youth market. At the time, Britain was top-heavy with teen idols, ranging from the sublime (Cliff Richard and Billy Fury) to the marginal (Johnny Gentle and Dickie Pride).
In February 1962, Martin received a call from a music publisher who was trying to drum up interest for a band managed by a friend, Brian Epstein. Martin met with Epstein and heard his group, the Beatles.
He was not impressed. The songs were weak and the tempos uneven.
Nevertheless, he liked a few aspects of the group and eventually agreed to sign them.
I just thought they were interesting and had something slightly different, and Id like to know more about them, he told the BBC in 1964.
Their humor, typified by Harrisons quip, helped win him over.
Still, Martin quickly learned the Beatles were not easily moldable like other bands of the era. There was no frontman: Lennon, Harrison and Paul McCartney all sang lead.
Lennon and McCartney were also determined to make it as songwriters and were dismissive of Martins suggestion, at an early session, that they release a Mitch Murray song called How Do You Do It. Another producer may have put his foot down, but Martin decided to trust the bands judgment. They soon rewarded him by coming up with Please Please Me, the groups first UK No. 1.
(Not that Martin was wrong; Gerry and the Pacemakers later took How Do You Do It to No. 1 as well.)
Martin was always a valuable partner to the Beatles, but particularly so in the early years. It was Martin who suggested speeding up the tempo of Please Please Me, originally a Roy Orbison-inspired slow rocker. It was Martin who suggested to Epstein that he meet with d**k James, who became the groups song publisher. And it was Martin who found ways of making the groups experiments work, whether it was feedback on I Feel Fine, the use of a sitar on Norwegian Wood or the harpsichord-sounding piano on In My Life.
Not one to miss a trick, he also recorded instrumental versions of the bands hits during the height of Beatlemania and provided incidental music to the groups film A Hard Days Night.
The golden age
By 1965, Martin was chafing at EMIs oversight and decided to become an independent producer. He established Associated Independent Recording, though he continued to work with the Beatles as well as other EMI acts.
He also entered his most fruitful period. The Beatles were breaking ground, and Martin was right along with them.
On Strawberry Fields, he recorded two versions: one using more standard rock-band instrumentation, the other with an orchestra. When Lennon asked to put the two together despite the versions being in different keys and tempi Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick obliged and, by happy accident, found they fit almost perfectly by speeding one version up and slowing the other down.
The Sgt. Pepper album was an even bigger challenge. Though overflowing with multitracked harmonies and clever arrangements, it was recorded on a four-track console. Martin would mix four tracks down to one and then record more, careful to limit distortion.
Yet, out of this rudimentary setup came songs such as A Day in the Life, with its rumbling piano, tweaked Lennon vocal and explosive crescendos.
As the Beatles, beset by legal issues and differing philosophies, started splitting apart, Martin grew weary of the atmosphere. He sat out a number of the White Album sessions, entrusting the work to assistants such as Emerick and Ken Scott. He was left out of the troubled Let It Be sessions entirely and returned for Abbey Road only after assurances that the group would put aside its bickering.
It was the last album he would do with the full band, though the single version of Let It Be released in 1970 bears his credit.
A legendary career
After the Beatles breakup in 1970, Martin worked with a wide variety of artists. He had particular success with the group America, producing their Top 10 hits Tin Man, Lonely People and Sister Golden Hair.
He also produced Jeff Beck, Cheap Trick, UFO, Ultravox, the original cast recording of the Whos Tommy and the movie soundtrack of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Elton John had Martin produce his updated version of Candle in the Wind, done in honor of Princess Diana, in 1997.
Martin also maintained his relationship with Paul McCartney, overseeing the explosive James Bond theme Live and Let Die and one of McCartneys most highly praised solo albums, Tug of War.
The Beatles, however, were never far away. When the surviving members of the group embarked on the Anthology project in the mid-90s, Martin was back in the producers chair, overseeing all the old recordings. He brought in his son, Giles, to help with such projects as The Beatles Love, the soundtrack to a Cirque du Soleil show that mixed and matched snippets to Beatles songs.
By that time, his ears werent what they used to be, he admitted. Indeed, he became the vice-president of Deafness Research UK, a charity dedicated to hearing issues.
He finally retired, officially, about 2009, when he was 83. Three years later, Giles Martin said he was enjoying early retirement.
Over his long career, Martin won pretty much every honor that could be given in the music world and elsewhere. Sgt. Pepper was the Grammy winner for 1967s album of the year; Martin was later given a Grammy Foundation Leadership Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.
Twenty-three Martin productions hit No. 1 in the United States. Thirty did so in the UK.
And he was knighted in 1996. Indeed, when it came time for someone to serve as musical director for Queen Elizabeths Golden Jubilee in 2002, Martin was the choice.
Throughout his life, Martin generally played down his accomplishments. But that wasnt to say he didnt know how much he had achieved.
Would I like to do something again? No, I wouldnt want to do anything again. Im not a person to look back, he told Rock Cellar in 2013. I dont honestly think I could do anything better than what we did.
CNNs Cheri Mossburg and Madison Park contributed to this report.
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