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Scott-Heron, Gil

(Encyclopedia)Scott-Heron, Gil, 1949–2011, American poet, musician, and songwriter, b. Chicago. Often considered “the godfather of rap music,” he rejected that ...

Cayuse

(Encyclopedia)Cayuse kīyo͞osˈ [key], Native North Americans who formerly occupied parts of NE Oregon and SE Washington. They were closely associated with the Nez Percé and spoke a language belonging to the Saha...

Mercer, Johnny

(Encyclopedia)Mercer, Johnny (John Herndon Mercer) mûrˈsər [key], 1909–76, American lyricist and songwriter, b. Savannah, Ga. Mercer, who was one of American popular music's most accomplished wordsmiths, began...

salsa

(Encyclopedia)salsa sälˈsə, sôlˈ– [key], American popular music developed largely in New York City during ...

Masekela, Hugh

(Encyclopedia)Masekela, Hugh măsˌəkĕlˈə [key], 1939–2018, South African singer, composer, band leader, and trumpet player. After working with several South African jazz bands, he and his then-wife Miriam Ma...

Kenton, Simon

(Encyclopedia)Kenton, Simon, 1755–1836, American frontiersman, b. probably Fauquier co., Va. In 1771, believing he had killed a man, he fled westward, assuming the name Simon Butler. He settled in Boonesboro, Ky....

Blount, William

(Encyclopedia)Blount, William, 1749–1800, American political leader, b. near Windsor, N.C. He served in the American Revolution and later became a legislator in North Carolina, a member of the Continental Congres...

Heckewelder, John Gottlieb Ernestus

(Encyclopedia)Heckewelder, John Gottlieb Ernestus hĕkˈəvĕldər [key], 1743–1823, Moravian missionary in the United States, b. Bedford, England. Settling (1754) in Bethlehem, Pa., with his parents, he later wa...

Lumbee

(Encyclopedia)Lumbee, descendants of Native Americans whose language belonged to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The ancestors of the Lumbee occupi...

Rolfe, John

(Encyclopedia)Rolfe, John rŏlf [key], 1585–1622, English colonist in Virginia. He reached the colony in May, 1610, and introduced (1612) the regular cultivation of tobacco, which became Virginia's staple. A wido...

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