By Eunice Charles
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D is also a member of the rock supergroup Prophets of Rage. He has released several solo albums, most notably Autobiography of Mistachuck (1996).
His work with Public Enemy helped create politically and socially conscious hip hop music in the mid-1980s. The Source ranked him at No. 12 on its list of the Top 50 Hip-Hop Lyricists of All Time. Chuck D has been nominated for six Grammys throughout his career, and has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as a member of Public Enemy. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 as a member of Public Enemy.
Ridenhour was born on August 1, 1960, on Long Island, New York. When he was a child, his mother played Motown and showtunes in the home and his father belonged to the Columbia Record Club. He began writing lyrics after the New York City blackout of 1977. He attended W. Tresper Clarke High School, where he was offered no formal education in music. He then went to Adelphi University on Long Island to study graphic design, where he met William Drayton Jr. (Flavor Flav). In the mid 1980’s he also worked as a delivery driver for a custom color photo lab in West Hempstead called EPD color Services. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Adelphi in 1984 and later received an honorary doctorate from Adelphi in 2013.
While at Adelphi, Ridenhour co-hosted hip hop radio show the Super Spectrum Mix Hour as Chuck D on Saturday nights at Long Island rock radio station WLIR, designed flyers for local hip-hop events, and drew a cartoon called Tales of the Skind for Adelphi student newspaper The Delphian.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
August is named to honor the first Roman emperor and grandnephew of Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar.
This observance, traditionally observed on August 1, marked the beginning of the harvest, and especially celebrated the first wheat crop, or that of corn. It derives from the ancient English festival the Gule of August, a pagan dedication of the first fruits that the early English church later converted to Christian usage. On Lammas Day, loaves of bread were baked from the first-ripened grain and brought to the churches to be consecrated. The word “lammas” comes from the Old English hlaf, loaf,” and maesse, “mass” or “feast.” Through the centuries, “loaf-mass” became corrupted in spelling and pronunciation to Lammas. To the Celts, this was Lughnasaid, the feast of the wedding of the Sun god and the Earth goddess, and also a harvest festival. In Ireland, baskets of blueberries are still offered to a sweetheart in commemoration of the original fertility festival. In Scotland, the Lammastide fairs became famous for trial marriages that could be ended without question after a year. Much lore is associated with this day, including this proverb: After Lammas Day, corn ripens as much by night as by day.”
This marks the day in 1834 when the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 came into effect, abolishing slavery in the British Empire. It has been celebrated by various Canadian communities, especially in the province of Ontario, as well as by several other former Commonwealth countries, for years. The Canadian government first officially recognized this as a national observance in 2021, although it is not on the statutory list of holidays (not a public holiday).
Question of the Day
Can I remove a watermark from my oak end table?
Try covering the mark with mayonnaise, then sprinkle with a little salt. Using a clean cloth, rub the mixture in until the stain disappears, then buff until dry. Rewax if necessary.
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Died
- Queen Anne of Great Britain –
- Frances Farmer (actress) –
- Tommy Makem (folk singer) –
- Naomi Sims (first African American model on the cover of Ladies’ Home Journal) –
Born
- William Clark (Lewis and Clark explorer) –
- Francis Scott Key (composer) –
- Maria Mitchell (astronomer) –
- Herman Melville (writer) –
- Helen Battles Sawyer Hogg (American-born Canadian astronomer ) –
- Yves Saint Laurent (fashion designer) –
- Jerry Garcia (singer & songwriter) –
- Coolio (rapper) –
- Adam Duritz (musician) –
- Tempestt Bledsoe (actress) –
- Jason Momoa (actor) –
Events
- The Riot Act went into effect in England –
- King William IV and Queen Adelaide opened the new London Bridge –
- Colorado admitted to the Union as the 38th state –
- Diamonds found in Arkansas –
- John F. Kennedy published his first book, Why England Slept –
- Anne Frank wrote her last diary entry –
- MTV debuted. The first video played was Video Killed The Radio Star” by Buggles” –
Weather
- A 16-inch snow cover remained at 5,550 feet on Mount Rainier, Washington –
- Thunderstorms in Cheyenne, Wyoming, dropped 6.06 inches of rain in three hours, resulting in flash flooding that killed 12 and caused $61.1 million in damages. –
- The Missouri River crested at 49.47 feet in St. Louis, Missouri –
COURTESY www.almanac.com
