Ye

2009-12-30T13:11:15Z

CollegeConservative:

'''Kanye West''' is an American [[hip hop]] musician and record producer, one of the most popular of recent times. His records have won nine [[Grammy]] awards.

== Personal Life and History ==
Kanye, an African American, attracted considerable media attention in September 2005, when he appeared on a television fundraiser for [[Hurricane Katrina]] victims and famously stated "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

He also created a stir when he posed for the cover of the February 2006 ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine portraying Jesus Christ, wearing a crown of thorns on his head with blood running down his face. <ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11009059/</ref>

Wests' lyrics are sometimes considered controversial and offensive as they often contain explicit racial terms and profanity. <ref>http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/5241</ref>
<ref>http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/2/2/200539.shtml</ref>

Kanye's father, Ray West, a [[sociology]] professor and former member of the [[Black Panther Party]] <ref>http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/5241</ref> has stated that he does not condone the use of profanity and racial comments in Kanye's lyrics. <ref>http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/kanyes%20dad%20lashes%20out%20at%20sons%20lyrics_27_01_2006</ref>

His mother Donda, a former chair of the English department at Chicago State University who acted as Kanye's manager, died Nov 10, 2007 following a cosmetic surgery procedure. She was 58 years old. <ref>http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20159597,00.html</ref> West is engaged to be married to Alexis Phifer. <ref>http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20037945,00.html</ref>

== Criticism==
West's musical style has been the subject of criticism. He relies heavily on auto-tuning and post-production rather than personal talent. He often calls himself "the best rapper alive" but does not actually rap on the majority of his songs.
Kanye West was the subject of extreme criticism when he appeared to mock [[Jesus]] on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and subsequently claim that he was bigger than Jesus. West, who has been rumored to be [[Muslim]] as his father (a former member of the Black Panther Party) was, caused considerable uproar with this comment and did not apologize.
West was again the subject of controvery at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, where he took the microphone from country music starlet and Christian Taylor Swift while she was about to give an acceptance speech and said that she did not deserve it as much as [[Beyonce Knowles]]. This upset the 19 year old Swift and caused backlash against West from many notable celebrities and President [[Barack Hussein Obama]]. It was also speculated that this interaction was spurred by West's noted [[White Hatred]], as previously demonstrated in his 2005 "''George Bush doesn't care about black people''" comment.

==Works==
*''The College Dropout'' (2004)
*''Late Registration'' (2005)
*''Graduation'' (2007)
*''808s and Heartbreak'' (2008)

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:West Kanye}}
[[Category:Male Singers]]

Taylor Swift

2009-12-30T12:55:55Z

CollegeConservative: Added more than "Taylor Swift is a Grammy-winning country music artist"

[[Image:TaylorSwift.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Taylor Swift at a live performance]]
'''Taylor Alison Swift''' (born December 13, 1989) is a popular [[Grammy]]-nominated [[American]] [[country music]] singer-songwriter and [[Christian]]. She was named Billboard Magazine Artist of the Year for 2009 and received the title Artist of the Year at the Country Music Awards. She has been praised by many [[Conservative]] parent advocacy groups for being a positive role model for young people.

Swift was born in the town of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. Her father is Scott Swift, a stock broker, and her mother is Andrea, a homemaker. She was raised in a Christian home and went to a Christian high school.

== Albums ==

She released her first album, [[Taylor Swift]] in late 2006 which became #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and #5 on the Billboard Hot 200. She realesed her second album, [[Fearless]] in 2008 which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 200. She was the first artist in history to have two different albums in the Top 10 on the year end album chart. It also was the first album by a female artist in country music history to log eight weeks at #1 on The Billboard 200.

== Awards and Accomplishments ==

Swift is the youngest artist in history to win Album of the Year award. Swift was also awarded the Country Music Academy's Crystal Milestone Award, given for Outstanding Achievement in Country Music. The Academy praised her for career achievements including selling more albums in 2008 than any other artist in any genre of music, the first time a country artist had done that, the breakthrough success of her debut album (which spawned five Top 10 hits, more than any in history for a female artist's debut CD), and the worldwide crossover success of her #1 single "Love Story". The Academy also cited Swift's contribution to helping country music attract a younger audience and her family-friendly lyrics and performances.

== Controversy with Kanye West ==

At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards she was awarded 2009's ''Best Female Video of the Year'' where she became the first country musician to win a VMA but before she could give her acceptance speech she was interrupted by [[Kanye West]] who took the microphone from her hand and proceeded to say that [[Beyonce]] deserved the award instead of Swift. Swift was stunned and upset but remained composed and was lauded by many for being so collected. Kanye West was criticized by many top celebrities, including President [[Barack Hussein Obama]]

== Philanthropy and Charity ==

In 2009 Taylor Swift became the female artist with the most top-40 songs of the decade with her sont ''Fifteen'', surpassing Beyonce Knowles. ''Fifteen'' is a song promoting abstinence and used in [[Best Buy]]'s campaign for @15, a charity which helps teenagers get involved in their communities. Taylor Swift has donated over $750,000 to the [[Red Cross]] and $250,000 to various schools around the country, some of which were Christian-based education schools. She has also donated $10,000 to St Jude's Children's Research Hospital

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Taylor}}

[[Category:Women Singers]]
[[Category:Country Singers]]
[[Category:Christians]]

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Ye

Taylor Swift