Research on the Artists

B.O.B:

B.o.B performing on June 29, 2010
Background information
Birth name	Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr.
Also known as	B.o.B, Bobby Ray
Born	November 15, 1988 (1988-11-15) (age 22) Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States[1]
Origin	Decatur, Georgia, USA
Genres	Hip hop[2]
Occupations	Rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, guitarist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, drum machine, synthesizer
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Grand Hustle, Rebel Rock, Atlantic Records, Web
Associated acts	Charles Hamilton, Asher Roth, T.I., Playboy Tre, Lupe Fiasco
Website	bobatl.com

B.o.B was born Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr. on November 15, 1988 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Less than a month later, his family moved to Decatur, Georgia. He played the trumpet in his school band from elementary school through high school. Although his parents wanted him to continue his education, Simmons decided in sixth grade that he wanted to pursue a music career. His father, a pastor, disapproved of his son's choices until he realized that Simmons was using music as a form of therapy and a creative outlet. Simmons later reflected on his experience, saying, "They’ve always supported me. They got my first keyboard to make beats on and they helped me out getting equipment here and there. But it was kind of hard for them to really understand what I was really trying to accomplish." B.o.B went to Columbia High School in Decatur, GA.




Hailey Williams:

Hayley Williams
Background information
Birth name	Hayley Nichole Williams
Born	December 27, 1988 (1988-12-27) (age 22) Meridian, Mississippi, U.S.
Genres	Pop punk, alternative rock, punk rock
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, guitars, drums, piano
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Fueled by Ramen, Warner Bros., Atlantic Records
Associated acts	Paramore, B.o.B, New Found Glory, You Me At Six, The Chariot

In 2002, at the age of 13, Williams moved from her hometown, Meridian, Mississippi, to Franklin, Tennessee,. She met former band members Josh Farro and Zac Farro in her new school. While still in school, she tried out for a local funk cover band called The Factory where she met Jeremy Davis.
Williams was discovered in 2003 by managers Dave Steunebrink and Richard Williams who signed the 14-year-old to a production deal. According to former manager Jeff Hanson in an interview with HitQuarters, at the time she was writing pop songs with top songwriters in Nashville. Williams was introduced to Atlantic Records A&R Tom Storms through Richard's attorneys Jim Zumwalt and Kent Marcus, and then signed to the label by Jason Flom. The label's original plan for their new artist was to make her a solo pop artist but Williams objected to this, saying that she wanted to be part of a band and play 'alternative rock' music. Atlantic decided to go along with her wishes and she then formed Paramore with Josh Farro, Zac Farro, and Jeremy Davis.
The music of Paramore was originally supposed to come out on Atlantic Records but the label's marketing department decided it would be better for the image of the band to not have them attached to a huge label. They instead released their music through a "cooler" niche label in Fueled by Ramen, with the debut album being released in 2005 when Hayley was only 16 years old.




Eminem:

Eminem
Eminem performing live at the DJ Hero Party in Los Angeles, June 1, 2009
Background information
Birth name	Marshall Bruce Mathers III
Born	October 17, 1972 (1972-10-17) (age 38) Saint Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
Origin	Warren, Michigan, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, record producer, songwriter, actor
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Interscope, Aftermath, Shady, Web
Associated acts	D12, Bad Meets Evil, Dr. Dre
Website	eminem.com

Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972),better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition. As well as being a member of D12, Eminem is also one half of the Detroit hip hop duo Bad Meets Evil, with Royce da 5'9". Eminem is one of the best-selling artists in the world. He has been listed and ranked as one of the greatest artists of all time by many magazines including the Rolling Stone magazine which has ranked him 82nd on its list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The same magazine has declared him The King of Hip Hop. Including his work with D12 and Bad Meets Evil, Eminem has achieved ten number one albums on the Billboard 200. He has also sold more than 33 million track downloads and 39.6 million albums in the United States alone.
Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album, The Slim Shady LP. That first album, The Marshall Mathers LP and his third major album, The Eminem Show, all won Grammy Awards, making Eminem the first artist to win Best Rap Album for three consecutive LPs. The Marshall Mathers LP is also considered one of Eminem's best and most successful albums. Eminem then went on hiatus after touring in 2005. He released his first album since 2004's Encore, titled Relapse, on May 15, 2009. In 2010, Eminem released his seventh studio album Recovery, which was an international success. Recovery was also named the best selling album worldwide of 2010 joining The Eminem Show, which was the best seller of 2002. Eminem won Grammy Awards for both Relapse and Recovery, giving him a total of 13 Grammys in his career. Eminem has named Masta Ace, Big Daddy Kane, Newcleus, the Beastie Boys, Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur, AZ, Nas, and Ice-T amongst others as his influences.
Eminem has opened other ventures since the beginning of his success. He founded his own record label, Shady Records with his manager Paul Rosenberg. He also has his own radio channel, Shade 45. Eminem began an acting career in 2002, when he starred in the hip hop drama film 8 Mile in which he won The Academy Award for Best Original Song, becoming the first rap artist ever to win the award.He is also set to star in the 2013 films Shady Talez and Have Gun, Will Travel. He has also made cameo appearances in The Wash (2001), Funny People (2009) and television series Entourage.