title: Bloodhound

text: During the late 19th century, Bloodhounds were frequent subjects for artists such as Edwin Landseer and Briton Riviere; the dogs depicted are close in appearance to modern Bloodhounds, indicating that the essential character of the Bloodhound predates modern dog breeding. However, the dogs depicted by Landseer show less wrinkles and haws than modern dogs.


title: Bloodhound

text: Throughout most of its history the Bloodhound was seen as a dog of English or Anglo-Scottish origin, either of unknown ancestry, or, more recently, as developed in part from the St. Hubert. It was only in the 19th century that it was claimed, primarily by Le Couteulx, to be the St. Hubert itself. Medieval hunting pictures show raches and limers, of the general sagax type, with hanging ears and lips, but not having the specific characteristics of the Bloodhound. 16th century descriptions of the St. Hubert as short-legged, and only medium-sized have led to speculation that the main European antecedent of the Bloodhound was rather the Norman hound, which was very large, than the St. Hubert.


title: Bloodhound

text: Others, such as the sleuth hound, the Talbot Hound, the dun hound and the Southern Hound, as well as pack hounds, have also been supposed to have contributed to its make-up. Some writers doubt whether anything certain can be said about specific breed ancestry beyond the last few centuries. The picture given by Le Couteulx and D'Yauville of the St. Hubert was that it changed considerably through mixed breeding, and perhaps degenerated, before its disappearance, while the Bloodhound which replaced it preserved its original character. However, it is apparent from 16th century pictures that the Bloodhound itself has changed considerably.


title: Bloodhound

text: The modern St. Hubert is the English Bloodhound, in descent and type. Generally, national and regional variants of hounds, terriers, spaniels, etc. have been recognised as separate breeds, France in particular having many regional breeds of hound; the Bloodhound's identification as the St. Hubert makes it an anomaly in this respect. Whether the Bloodhound is British or Belgian in origin is ultimately not something one can prove historically, depending as it does on whether one chooses to regard two related animals differing in tradition, and history, and somewhat in type, as separate breeds, or variants of the same one.


title: Bloodhound

text: Descriptions of the desirable physical qualities of a hunting hound go back to medieval books on hunting. All dogs used in the hunting field were 'gentle', that is of good breeding (not necessarily pure breeding), and parents were carefully chosen to maintain and improve conformation. In 1896, making some use of wording found in earlier descriptions, Edwin Brough and Dr. J. Sidney Turner published "Points and Characteristics of the Bloodhound or Sleuth-Hound". This was adopted by the newly formed Association of Bloodhound Breeders, and ultimately became, with very little change, the 'official' breed standard of the KC and the AKC.


title: Bloodhound

text: Meanwhile, the Belgian or Dutch Comte Henri de Bylandt, or H A Graaf van Bylandt, published "Races des Chiens" in 1897, a huge and very important illustrated compilation of breed descriptions, or standards. In this French edition, the Bloodhound appears as the Chien de St. Hubert, although the pictures illustrating the standard are all of British Bloodhounds, many of them those of Edwin Brough. The book was revised and reprinted in four languages in 1904, and in this edition the English text of the standard is that of the Association of Bloodhound Breeders, while the French text is closely based on it. However, the present FCI standard uses a quite different layout and wording.


title: Bloodhound

text: The AKC standard has hardly been altered from the original of 1896, the principal change being that the colours, 'black and tan', 'red and tan', and 'tawny', have been renamed as 'black and tan', 'liver and tan', and 'red', but the British KC has made considerable changes. Some of these were simply matters of presentation and did not affect content. However, responding to the view that the requirements of some breed standards were potentially detrimental to the health or well-being of the animal, changes have been made affecting the required eye shape and the loose skin, the most recent revision being 2008–9.


title: Bloodhound

text: The word 'bloodhound' is recorded from c. 1330."" Most recent accounts say that its etymological meaning is 'hound of pure or noble blood'. This derives from an original suggestion of Le Couteulx de Canteleu in the 19th century, which has been enthusiastically and uncritically espoused by later writers, perhaps because it absolved this undoubtedly good-natured dog from suggestions of bloodthirstiness. Neither Le Couteulx nor anyone since has offered any historical evidence to support this view. The suggestion sometimes seen that the word derives from 'blooded hound' is without basis, as the expression does not appear in early English, and 'blooded' in this meaning is not found before the late 18th century.


title: Bloodhound

text: Before then, 'bloodhound' had been taken to mean, 'hound for blood', or 'blood-seeking hound'. This was the explanation put forward by John Caius, who was one of the most learned men of his time, and had an interest in etymology, in the 16th century. It is supported by considerable historical linguistic evidence, which can be gleaned from such sources as the "Oxford English Dictionary" ("OED"): the fact that first uses of the word 'blood' to refer to good breeding in an animal postdate the first use of 'bloodhound'; that other comparable uses, as in 'blood horse' and 'blood stock' appear many centuries later; and that derogatory uses of the word 'bloodhound', which any suggestion of noble breeding would sadly weaken, appear from as early as c. 1400. Other early sources tell us that hounds were supposed to have an interest in blood, and that the Bloodhound was used to follow the trail of a wounded animal. In the absence of anything in early usage, or any historical evidence whatsoever, to support the modern explanation, the older must be regarded as correct.


title: Bloodhound

text: The Bloodhound's physical characteristics account for its ability to follow a scent trail left several days in the past. The olfactory bulb in dogs is roughly 40 times bigger than the olfactory bulb in humans, relative to total brain size, with 125 to 220 million olfactory receptors. Consequently, dogs have an olfactory sense 40 times more sensitive than that of a human. In some dog breeds, such as Bloodhounds, the olfactory sense has nearly 300 million receptors.


title: Bloodhound

text: The large, long pendent ears serve to prevent wind from scattering nearby skin cells while the dog's nose is on the ground; the folds of wrinkled flesh under the lips and neck—called the shawl—serve to catch stray scent particles in the air or on a nearby branch as the Bloodhound is scenting, reinforcing the scent in the dog's memory and nose. However, not all agree that the long ears and loose skin are functional, some regarding them as a handicap.


title: Bloodhound

text: There are many accounts of Bloodhounds successfully following trails many hours, and even several days old, the record being of a family found dead in Oregon, in 1954, over 330 hours after they had gone missing. The Bloodhound is generally used to follow the individual scent of a fugitive or lost person, taking the scent from a 'scent article' – something the quarry is known to have touched, which could be an item of clothing, a car seat, an identified footprint, etc. Many Bloodhounds will follow the drift of scent a good distance away from the actual footsteps of the quarry, which can enable them to cut corners and reach the end of the trail more quickly. In America, sticking close to the footsteps is called 'tracking', while the freer method is known as 'trailing' (in the UK, 'hunting'), and is held to reflect the Bloodhound's concentration on the individual human scent, rather than that of, say, vegetation crushed by the feet of the quarry. Having lost a scent, a good Bloodhound will stubbornly cast about for long periods, if necessary, in order to recover it. The Bloodhound is handled on a tracking harness, which has a metal ring above the shoulders, to which a leash is attached, so that the hound's neck is not jerked up when the leash becomes taut, as it would with a collar. The leash is at least long enough to allow the hound to cross freely in front of the handler, some handlers preferring quite a short leash, giving better communication with the hound, others liking something longer, maybe 20 or 30 feet.


title: Bloodhound

text: It is generally agreed that the basis of initial training is to make the experience enjoyable for the puppy or young hound to keep its enthusiasm high. Whitney preferred waiting till the hound is 18 months old, to start training, but others start as young as possible; say, three months. Training can be started by running short trails on a family member whom the puppy sees walk away, at first remaining visible, and later going out of sight. Even though familiar with the scent of the 'runner', it can be given a scent article to sniff, and given the command to follow. It can also be introduced to the tracking harness, which is put on just before the trail starts, and removed as soon as it is finished. On reaching the runner, the puppy is given lavish praise and perhaps a reward. Generally in training, the handler must know exactly where the runner went, so that he does not encourage the hound when it is wrong, or 'correct' it when it is on the scent, but he should not be too ready with his corrections if the hound goes astray, or it may come to rely on him. He should give the hound time to realise its mistake and put itself right, if possible. As training progresses the handler learns to 'read' his hound's behaviour. The hound must trust its nose and the handler must trust the hound. From early hot trails on a familiar person, the young hound progresses to colder trails on the scents of strangers. Later training can be designed to teach particular lessons: crossing trails with false scents, having the runner start out with a companion, who leaves him somewhere along the trail, laying a trail on ground frequented by wild animals. This will teach the hound not to change on to other humans, or riot on animal scents (known as 'staying clean' [US], or 'freedom from change' [UK]). It also needs to work over a variety of ground and learn to cope with distractions of many kinds, as well as being introduced to 'negative trails': given a scent article which has not been handled by anyone in the area, so that it will learn to indicate to a handler that the required scent is not there. If it is becoming discouraged it can revert to simpler tasks to recover enthusiasm.


title: Bloodhound

text: Canine identification of a suspect can help police with their inquiries, and evidence of identification is accepted in some courts. The most approved method of identification is for the hound to jump up, and place its paws on the subject's chest. In the case of a lost person or a known fugitive identification will not be significant, and in the case of a potentially violent, possibly armed, fugitive, a Bloodhound handler will not want his dog to approach the quarry for fear of injury to the Bloodhound. Many Bloodhounds reaching the end of a trail will show no interest in the person they have been trailing, and are difficult to train to identify. Leon Whitney recommended a method of initial training in which identification was the first thing learned, based on giving the young hound a scent article from someone who walks a very short distance out of sight into a barn, where he stands with a piece of liver, while another person, also smelling of liver, stands nearby. The hound is led along the 'trail', and if it shows an inclination to go to the wrong person, it is chastised, but it gets the liver if it goes to the right one. When the hound goes to the right person almost infallibly, the number of people is increased, making the choice more difficult, and eventually the brief walks are extended into full trails.


title: Bloodhound

text: A common misconception is that Bloodhounds are employed in packs; while this is sometimes the case in Britain, where foxhound blood is mixed into them to increase speed, in North America, Bloodhounds are used as solitary trackers. When they are on a trail, they are usually silent and do not give voice as do other scent hounds. The original use of the Bloodhound as a leash-hound, to find but not disturb animals, would require silent trailing.


title: Bloodhound

text: Nevertheless, the Bloodhound bay is among the most impressive of hound voices. When hunting in a pack, they are expected to be in full cry. They are more likely to 'give tongue,' 'throw their tongue,' or 'speak' when hunting in a pack than when hunting singly, and more when hunting free than when on the leash. The quality of 'speaking to the line', that is giving tongue when on the correct scent while remaining silent when off it, is valued in British Bloodhound circles, on aesthetic grounds and because it makes it very easy to 'read' the hound's tracking behaviour. As a result, special trophies for speaking to the correct line are on offer at British working trials (where hounds hunt singly), although rarely awarded.


title: Bloodhound

text: Bloodhound Working Trials, first held in 1898, take place in Britain four times a year, under Kennel Club rules, organised by either the Association of Bloodhound Breeders , or The Bloodhound Club. They are run over farm land by permission of the landowners. A line walker (runner) is given a map, and sets off to follow a course marked on it, leaving a scent article ('smeller') attached to a flag marking the beginning of the trail. A hound and its handler start a set time later, and try to follow his trail, while the judge, equipped with a copy of the map, follows behind assessing their performance. When each of the entered hounds has completed a trail, he picks a winner. There are a series of 'stakes' of increasing difficulty, the simplest being 1 mile long, ½ an hour cold, and the hardest 3 miles long, 2 hours cold. On winning a stake, a hound moves up to the next one. Hounds may work unleashed if they have passed a test showing they will not bother livestock, especially sheep. Special prizes are on offer for identification and voice ('speaking to the line'). The best hounds may be invited to take part in special stakes, the most difficult being 3 miles long, 24 hours cold.


title: Bloodhound

text: The medieval Bloodhound was not primarily a pack hound, but a leash hound, though there may have been packs in different places or at different times. Up to the 19th century, a single hound or a brace was used on deer parks, to find deer for the gun. However, mid-century two packs appeared, that of Thomas Neville, who hunted in the New Forest area, and who preferred very black hounds, and that of Lord Wolverton.


title: Bloodhound

text: Both of these hunted semi-domesticated deer ('carted deer'), which were recaptured on being brought to bay and returned home. It was said of Lord Wolverton's hounds that he found it difficult to get them to hunt as a pack, because each liked to follow the scent on his own. Eventually, many were sold to Le Couteulx de Canteleu and taken to France.


title: Bloodhound

text: Around the start of the 20th century, several packs existed briefly, following either deer, or the 'clean boot' – individual human scent without any enhancement such as animal blood or aniseed. Since the Second World War there have been several packs, including that of Eric Furness, who introduced a cross to a Dumfriesshire Black and Tan Foxhound into his Peak Bloodhounds.


title: Bloodhound

text: Generally, masters of Bloodhounds since then maintain a level of out-cross breeding in their packs to improve speed and agility, while retaining Bloodhound type. These packs hunt the clean boot and are followed by a field on horseback.


title: Bloodhound

text: Grafton was the Bloodhound in Landseer's famous painting "Dignity and Impudence". Both dogs in the picture belonged to Jacob Bell.


title: Bloodhound

text: Mr. T. A. Jennings' Ch Druid, known as 'Old Druid' was the first Bloodhound champion. Born in 1857, he was later bought by Emperor Napoleon III for his son, Prince Eugene Louis Jean Joseph, and taken to France. Photographs of him, of another famous hound, Cowen's Druid, and a bitch named Countess, appear in a rare book from 1865 in the British Library, and may be the oldest photographs of Bloodhounds to have survived.


title: Bloodhound

text: A Bloodhound named Nick Carter is frequently cited as the archetype of the trailing Bloodhound and the extensive publicity this dog received may be the source of much Bloodhound-related folklore. Born in 1900, Nick Carter was owned and handled by Captain G. V. Mullikin of Lexington, Kentucky; he is credited with more than 650 finds, including one that required him to follow a trail 300 hours old; that is, 12 days.


title: Bloodhound

text: Ch. Heathers Knock on Wood, known as Knotty, was one of the most awarded Bloodhounds of all time. He received more Best-in-Shows than any other Bloodhound, and is the first liver-and-tan Bloodhound ever to win a Best-in-Show. Knotty was awarded Best-in-Show at the Eukanuba Tournament in 2005 and won the Hound Group in the Westminster Kennel Club Show the same year. Knotty's offspring have also been show dogs, and as a result of many of his puppies receiving the title of "Champion" by the AKC, Knotty was inducted into the AKC's Stud Dog Hall of Fame. He died in the spring of 2008, from a rattlesnake's bite, which he suffered while trying to protect his owner from the snake.


title: Bloodhound

text: On the popular 1960s sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies", veteran canine actor Stretch portrayed Jed Clampett's Bloodhound, Duke.


title: Bloodhound

text: Ladybird on the popular animated sitcom "King of the Hill" is a purebred Georgia Bloodhound belonging to the Hill family.


title: Bloodhound

text: The US Army 615th Military Police Company's mascot is a Bloodhound named for the company's pet and mascot during Vietnam named Andy.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: Straight Outta Compton is the debut studio album by rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987. Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988, the album was produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince, with lyrics written by N.W.A members Ice Cube and MC Ren along with Ruthless rapper The D.O.C. Not merely depicting Compton's street violence, the lyrics repeatedly threaten to lead it by attacking peers and even police. The track "Fuck tha Police" drew an FBI agent's warning letter, which aided N.W.A's notoriety, with N.W.A calling itself "the world's most dangerous group."


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: In July 1989, despite its scarce radio play beyond the Los Angeles area, "Straight Outta Compton" received gangsta rap's first platinum certification, one million copies sold by then. That year, the album peaked at #9 on "Billboard"s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and at #37 on the popular albums chart, the "Billboard" 200. Receiving media spotlight, N.W.A's example triggered the rap genre's movement toward hardcore, gangsta rap. As the 1980s closed, if largely through N.W.A's own splintering—yielding successful solo music careers and franchises for Ice Cube and for Dr. Dre—the ripple effects had reshaped rap, R&B, and popular music, influencing popular culture.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: Remastered, the album's September 2002 reissue gained four bonus tracks. Nearing the album's 20th anniversary, another extended version of it arrived in December 2007. And in 2015, after an album reissue on red cassettes of limited edition, theater release of the biographical film "Straight Outta Compton" reinvigorated sales of the album, which by year's end was certified 3x Multi-Platinum. In 2016, it became the first rap album inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The next year, the Library of Congress enshrined "Straight Outta Compton" in the National Recording Registry, who have deemed it to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: For most of the 1980s, New York City, hip hop's 1973 birthplace, remained the rap genre's dominant scene. Until 1988, this scene, retaining more of hip hop's dance and party origin, prioritized the DJ, from a DJ crew, playing, at a dance party, electro rap and "funk hop"—akin to Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force offering, from New York, the 1982 hit "Planet Rock"—whereas the East Coast, as in Run-DMC's breakout album of 1984, had moved to prioritizing the lyricist, the "MC".


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: Yet around Los Angeles, DJs increasingly imparted or invited lyrics atop the party music, how the World Class Wreckin' Cru core—including Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, led by Grandmaster Lonzo—made the West Coast's first rap album, albeit electro rap, released under a major record label. But since 1982, among LA's rising lyricists was Ice-T, who heard Philadelphia rapper Schoolly D's 1985 single "P.S.K. What Does It Mean?" In 1986, thus influenced, Ice-T offered the track "6 in the Mornin', which, seizing some of LA's attention from electro rap, reached gold sales as the inaugural anthem of a new rap subgenre later called "gangsta rap".


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: In 1986, Eric Wright, a Kelly Park Compton Crip, was forming in Compton an independent label, Ruthless Records. Dealing drugs, Wright had become acquainted with Dr. Dre and Arabian Prince, two friends, record producers, and recording artists hitting locally but denied royalties. Upon recruiting from rap group C.I.A. a ghostwriter in Ice Cube, who was from South Central Los Angeles, Wright had Dre and Cube craft a song, "Boyz-n-the-Hood". But once a Ruthless group signed from New York City rejected it, Wright, dubbed Eazy-E, himself rapped it, a local hit. It sounded similar to Schooly D's "P.S.K." single, and its tempo was too slow to dance to.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: Exceeding Ice-T's model, N.W.A imparted to gangsta rap the N.W.A signature, "exaggerated descriptions of street life, militant resistance to authority, and outright sexist violence." Locally, by supplying radio edits, N.W.A enjoyed nearly direct radio access, anyway, via Greg Mack of KDAY radio. But otherwise, even N.W.A's national debut, "Straight Outta Compton", saw virtually no radio play, a fact that amplified the album's feat: the first gangsta rap certified platinum, one million copies sold. As rap fans, even from afar, sought more from Compton and South Central, local rappers, like MC Eiht of Compton's Most Wanted, met the call. LA's rap scene rapidly moved from party rap to hardcore rap.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: Yet on the global stage, N.W.A towered as gangsta rap's icons. For their ostentatious lyrics, profane and strident, unrelentingly depicting violent defiance, even threatening law enforcement, an FBI agent sent the record label a warning letter, MTV banned the "Straight Outta Compton" video, some venues banned N.W.A performance, and some police officers refused to work security at N.W.A shows elsewhere. As this all sparked publicity that reinforced their aura, the rappers would allude to such facts in later raps. In any case, "Slant Magazine" recalls ""Straight Outta Compton" as the sound of the West Coast firing on New York's Fort Sumpter in what would become '90s culture's biggest Uncivil War."


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: The album was recorded and produced in Audio Achievements Studio in Torrance, California for $12,000. Dr. Dre, in a 1993 interview, recalls, "I threw that thing together in six weeks so we could have something to sell out of the trunk.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: In an incident recalled in Jerry Heller's book and later portrayed in the film "Straight Outta Compton", police approached the group while they were standing outside the studio in the fall of 1987 and demanded them to get on their knees and show ID without explanation. Outraged by the experience, Cube began writing the lyrics that would become "Fuck tha Police." Initially, still spending weekends in jail over traffic violations, Dre was reluctant to do "Fuck tha Police", a reluctance that dissolved once that sentence concluded.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: The album's producers were Dr. Dre with DJ Yella and Arabian Prince. Considering the album's force, its production may seem surprisingly spare, mostly sampled horn blasts, some funk guitar riffs, sampled vocals, and turntable scratches atop a drum machine. Their drum machine, used for kick drums, was the Roland TR-808, which was rendered obsolete upon its 1980 release by the Linn LM-1, but cost about $1,000 versus $5,000. Used as early as 1980 by Japanese electropop group Yellow Magic Orchestra, it became hip hop's venerated "808". Its deep bass thumps, audibly artificial, lend the now classic sound of rap's 1980s and 1990s landmarks, including "Straight Outta Compton" precursors, like Run-DMC's launch of aggressive vocalization from 1983 to 1984, Eric B. & Rakim's inauguration of liberal sampling in 1986, Boogie Down Productions in KRS-One's assertion of criminal mindset in 1987, and Public Enemy's assault on mainstream authority and opinion in 1988.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: N.W.A's Ice Cube and MC Ren along with Ruthless Records rapper The D.O.C. wrote the lyrics, including those rapped by Eazy-E and by Dr. Dre. On the other hand, DJ Yella never raps, and Arabian Prince does only minor vocals on "Something 2 Dance 2". Otherwise, each group member stands out through a solo rap, too.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: MC Ren has two solo tracks, "If It Ain't Ruff" and "Quiet on tha Set". Dr. Dre dominates "Express Yourself". Ice Cube's is "I Ain't tha 1". Eazy-E's is a remix of "8 Ball", a track which originally appeared on N.W.A's 1987 debut compilation album "N.W.A. and the Posse". The one guest is The D.O.C., who raps the opening verse of "Parental Discretion Iz Advised".


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: Whereas Ren wrote his own lyrics, and The D.O.C. wrote some lyrics, perhaps mainly Dre's lyrics, Cube wrote some of Dre's lyrics and nearly all of Eazy's lyrics. Still, even Eazy and Dre, alike Cube and Ren, each brings a distinct delivery and character, making N.W.A altogether stand out from imitators.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: Reflecting in 2002, "Rolling Stone" writer Jon Caramanica calls the album a "bombastic, cacophonous car ride through Los Angeles' burnt-out and ignored hoods". In a contemporary review, rather, Mark Holmberg, in the "Richmond Times-Dispatch", calls it "a preacher-provoking, mother-maddening, reality-stinks" album that "wallows in gangs, doping, drive-by shootings, brutal sexism, cop slamming and racism". "Newsweek" wrote, "Hinting at gang roots, and selling themselves on those hints, they project a gangster mystique that pays no attention to where criminality begins and marketing lets off." Even when depicting severe and unprovoked violence, the rappers cite their own stage names as its very perpetrators. By their sheer force, the album's opening three tracks—"Straight Outta Compton", "Fuck tha Police", and "Gangsta Gangsta"—signature songs setting N.W.A's platform, says AllMusic album reviewer Steve Huey, "threaten to dwarf everything that follows".


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: First, the title track, smearing and menacing civilians and police, men and women, while women receive gruff sexual advances, too, even threatens to "smother your mother". Then, after a skit of the police put on criminal trial, "Fuck tha Police", alleging chronic harassment and brutality by officers, singularly threatens lethal retaliation. "Gangsta Gangsta" depicts group outings to carouse with women while slurring unwilling women and assaulting men, whether confrontational troublemakers, innocent bystanders, or a driver who, fleeing the failed carjacking, gets shot at. "8 Ball" is dedicated to the 40 oz bottles of malt liquor, Olde English 800. "Express Yourself", written by Cube and rapped by Dre, incidentally scorns weed smoking—already proclaimed by Cube in "Gangsta Gangsta" as his own, chronic practice—which allegedly causes brain damage, a threat to the song's optimistic agenda, liberal individuality. "I Ain't tha 1" scorns spending money on women. "Dopeman" depicts the crack epidemic's aftermath. Closing the album, "Something 2 Dance 2" is upbeat.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: The term "gangsta rap", soon to arise in journalism, had not been coined yet. According to Ice Cube, the rappers themselves called it "reality rap". Indicting N.W.A as its leading example, journalist David Mills, in 1990, acknowledges, "The hard-core street rappers defend their violent lyrics as a reflection of 'reality'. But for all the gunshots they mix into their music, rappers rarely try to dramatize that reality" empathetically. "It's easier for them to imagine themselves pulling the trigger." Still, the year before, Bud Norman, reviewing in the "Wichita Eagle-Beacon", assesses that on "Straight Outta Compton", "they don't make it sound like much fun". In Norman's view, "They describe it with the same nonjudgmental resignation that a Kansan"—a resident of Kansas—"might use about a tornado." Steve Huey, writing for AllMusic, considered that ""Straight Outta Compton" insistent claims of reality ring a little hollow today, since it hardly ever depicts consequences. But despite all the romanticized invincibility, the force and detail of Ice Cube's writing makes the exaggerations resonate."


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: N.W.A's "Greatest Hits", released in July 1996, featured six tracks from "Straight Outta Compton": "Gangsta Gangsta", "If It Ain't Ruff", "I Ain't tha 1", "Express Yourself", an extended mix of "Straight Outta Compton", and "Fuck tha Police", which is absent from "Straight Outta Compton"'s censored version.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: In the United Kingdom, the album was released by 4th & B'way Records after a period that Roy Wilkinson of "Sounds" described as "months" of selling well as an import release.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: Music journalist Greg Kot, reviewing "Straight Outta Compton" for the "Chicago Tribune", finds N.W.A's sound "fuller and funkier" than that of East Coast hip hop, and their lyrics just as "unforgiving" as those of East Coast group Public Enemy. "Los Angeles Times" critic Dennis Hunt anticipates that listeners may be offended by the album's lack of "moralizing", "even more so than the searing street language", and advises, "To appreciate this remarkable, disturbing album you have to approach it for what it is—a no-holds-barred, audio-documentary of ghetto life." On the other hand, Cary Darling, in California's "Orange County Register", while thinking that the lyrics make Ice-T "look like a Cub Scout", ultimately deems "Straight Outta Compton" "curiously uninvolving", as it "lacks the insight and passion that put the best work by the likes of Boogie Down Productions, Ice-T and Public Enemy so far ahead of the field". Robert Christgau of "The Village Voice" perceives N.W.A's persona as calculated: "Right, it's not about salary—it's about royalties, about brandishing scarewords like 'street' and 'crazy' and 'fuck' and 'reality' until suckers black and white cough up the cash."


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: In the UK, "Sounds" reviewer Roy Wilkinson declared "Straight Outta Compton" "rap's answer to Slayer's "Reign in Blood"—a record the majors were scared to touch", continuing, "This is rock made genuinely wild again. Beware, the pop jive of the current 'Express Yourself' single will in no way prepare you for the Magnum beat that fires here." Other British publications were less enthusiastic. Paolo Hewitt of "NME" takes issue with the lyrics' "macho repetition and tunnel vision", while in the "Hi-Fi News & Record Review", Peter Clark, going further, calls the lyrics "unrelenting in their unpleasantness". Offering the lowest possible rating, Clark adds, "The cumulative effect is like listening to an endless fight next door. The music on this record is without a hint of dynamics or melody." Charlie Dick, writing for "Q", contends, "In the wake of Public Enemy and KRS-One, it is amazing that something this lightweight could cause such a stir. The all-mouth-and-trousers content is backed up by likable drum machine twittering, minimal instrumentation and duffish production." Still, he predicts, "This regressive nonsense will be passed off as social commentary by thrill-seekers all across the free world."


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: By 1991, while criticizing group members for allegedly carrying misogynist lyrics into real life, "Newsweek" incidentally comments that "Straight Outta Compton", nonetheless, "introduced some of the most grotesquely exciting music ever made". Writing in retrospect, Steve Huey, in AllMusic, deems the album mainly just "raising hell" while posturing, but finds that "it still sounds refreshingly uncalculated because of its irreverent, gonzo sense of humor, still unfortunately rare in hardcore rap". In the 2004 "Rolling Stone Album Guide", Roni Sarig states that although "Straight Outta Compton" was viewed as a "perversion" of the "more politically sophisticated" style of hip hop exemplified by Public Enemy, the album displays "a more righteous fury than the hundreds of copycats it spawned".


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: In 1994, British magazine "Hip Hop Connection", placing the album third among rap's best albums, adds, ""Straight Outta Compton" sounded so exciting, insignificant details such as realism and integrity could be overlooked." Hip hop magazine "The Source" included "Straight Outta Compton" in its 1998 "100 Best Albums" list. Television network VH1, in 2003, placed it 62nd. "Spin" magazine, sorting the "100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005", identified it 10th.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: The first rap album ever to gain five stars from "Rolling Stone" at initial review, it placed 70th among the magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in its 2020 revised list. "Time", in 2006, named it one of the 100 greatest albums of all time. "Vibe" appraised it as one of the 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century. In 2012, "Slant Magazine" listed it 18th among the "Best Albums of the 1980s". In any case, in November 2016, "Straight Outta Compton" became the first rap album inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: N.W.A's album best selling, "Straight Outta Compton", released in August 1988, attained gold certification, half a million copies sold, on April 13, 1989. Meanwhile, the album peaked at number #9 on "Billboard"s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and on April 15, 1989, at #37 on the "Billboard" 200, which ranks the week's most popular albums. On July 18, 1989, the album was certified platinum, one million copies sold.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: By contrast, "N.W.A. and the Posse", out since November 1987, reached gold certification in September 1994. The group's "100 Miles and Runnin'" EP, which took two years to produce and was released in August 1990, went platinum in September 1992. That year, on March 27, "Straight Outta Compton" was certified double-platinum, two million copies sold.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: By Priority Records' estimation, about 80% of "Straight Outta Compton"'s sales occurred in suburban areas predominantly white. N.W.A's next and final full-length album, "Efil4zaggin" or "Niggaz4Life", released in late May 1991, went platinum just over two months later, in August 1991, yet in 2020 remains platinum, whereas on November 11, 2015, "Straight Outta Compton" was certified triple-platinum, three million copies sold.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: Approaching the August 2015 release of the film "Straight Outta Compton", the album reentered the "Billboard" 200 at number #173. The next week, it rose to #97, another week later reached #30—beyond its 1989 peak position of #37—and on September 5 peaked at #6. Meanwhile, the album's title track, entering the popular songs chart, the "Billboard" Hot 100, becoming N.W.A's first song in the Top 40, spent two weeks at #38.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: In 2004, the "DigitaArts" list 25 Best Albums Covers included "Straight Outta Compton". By the album's release, Arabian Prince, on the cover, had left N.W.A. Lacking him, an iconic group photo taken by Ithaka Darin Pappas on November 11, 1988, at Pappa's studio apartment in Los Angeles' Miracle Mile district, has been repeatedly republished in media, including "The Source" May 1989 cover, captioning, "California Rap Hits Nationwide!" Pappas calls it the "Miracle Mile Shot", the DVD cover of the 2015 documentary "Kings Of Compton", in France's Musée d'art contemporain de Marseille from 2017 to 2018, and a backdrop at N.W.A's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2016 in Brooklyn, New York.


title: Straight Outta Compton

text: Sinéad O'Connor, then herself controversial, appraised in 1990 that "It's definitely the best rap record I've ever heard". But, feeling that he had rushed its production, N.W.A's own Dr. Dre, in a 1993 interview, remarked, "To this day, I can't stand that album." On the other hand, in 2005, comedian Chris Rock still ranked it the top rap album of all time. The next year, parodic music artist "Weird Al" Yankovic released a new album, "Straight Outta Lynwood". Punk rock band NOFX released the 2009 song "Straight Outta Massachusetts". In the 2014 film "22 Jump Street", the character Mrs. Dickson, whose husband is played by Ice Cube, says she's "straight outta Compton". In 2015, the biopic "Straight Outta Compton" was a hit film.


title: Skepta

text: Chief Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British-Nigerian grime MC, rapper and record producer. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before becoming founding members of Boy Better Know in 2005.


title: Skepta

text: With Boy Better Know, Skepta clashed with fellow MC Devilman for the video release "Lord of the Mics 2", in what is remembered as one of the biggest clashes in grime history. Skepta released his debut studio album "Greatest Hits" in 2007 and his second album, "Microphone Champion" in 2009, both independently; while his third studio album "Doin' It Again" was released in 2011 by AATW. He made his acting debut in the 2015 film "Anti-Social". Skepta's fourth studio album, "Konnichiwa" (2016), featured the hit singles "That's Not Me" and "Shutdown". The album, which was widely acclaimed, won the Mercury Prize.


title: Skepta

text: In 2018, he produced and was featured on American rapper ASAP Rocky's single "Praise the Lord (Da Shine)", which became both artists' highest-charting single and a global hit. In 2019, Skepta released "Ignorance Is Bliss", which charted in fifteen countries. "Insomnia" (2020), a collaborative album with British rappers Chip and Young Adz, became Skepta's third album to reach the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart.


title: Skepta

text: Skepta has been nominated for three Brit Awards, including the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist. His influence on contemporary British popular culture as a key figure in the grime scene saw him appear on Debrett's 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK. He received a Nigerian chieftaincy on 4 April 2018, with his title being "Amuludun of Odo-Aje".


title: Skepta

text: Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. was born on 19 September 1982, to Nigerian parents, of respective Yoruba (paternal) and Igbo (maternal) backgrounds, in Tottenham, North London. He is the eldest of four children; fellow musician Jme, radio presenter Julie and graphic designer Jason.


title: Skepta

text: Skepta was originally a DJ from Tottenham-based grime collective Meridian Crew. The Meridian Crew performed 'sets' or sessions on pirate radio (most notably Heat FM 96.6) where fellow crew members sometimes referred to him as "Scoopa Daniels". Early in his career, Skepta released instrumentals including "DTI (Pirate Station Anthem)" and "Private Caller".


title: Skepta

text: Skepta began MCing shortly before Meridian Crew disbanded in 2005, after which Skepta, alongside his brother Jme, joined Roll Deep for a short period of time before becoming founding members of Boy Better Know in 2006. Skepta was convinced to begin MCing by Wiley after his records were taken away from him by the police. Following the formation of Boy Better Know, Skepta clashed with fellow MC Devilman for the DVD Lord of the Mics 2, in what is remembered as one of the biggest clashes in grime history. Shortly after the clash, Skepta released a mixtape entitled ""Joseph Junior Adenuga"". Skepta publicly released his debut album "Greatest Hits" on 17 September 2007, on his label Boy Better Know.


title: Skepta

text: Skepta self-released the first single "Rolex Sweep" in September 2008 and reached number 89 on the UK Singles Chart. Skepta then released the album "Microphone Champion" on 1 June 2009. He then also released single "Too Many Man" with Jme, Wiley, Frisco and Shorty, which went to chart at number 79. Skepta has released five singles off his third studio album "Doin' It Again" (first with a major label), titled "Bad Boy", "Rescue Me", "Cross My Heart" featuring Preeya Kalidas, "So Alive" and "Amnesia", as well as a video for the Hello Good Morning (Grime Remix). Three singles charted in the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, with "Rescue Me" being the most successful at number 14. "Cross My Heart" came in at number 31 and dropped out of the Top 40 a week later. "Doin' It Again" spent 3 weeks in the top 100 album charts and debuted and peaked at number 19 on its first week of release. In 2011, Skepta caused a controversy by releasing a hardcore music video of his single "All Over the House".


title: Skepta

text: In 2012, Skepta released two singles from his fourth forthcoming album. Both "Hold On" and "Make Peace Not War" were Top 40 charting singles in the UK but were a departure from Skepta's usual sound. Skepta's second major label album was intended to be released in the fourth quarter of 2011, entitled "The Honeymoon" but was delayed till 2012. After a disappointing response from the first two singles Skepta decided to release a purchasable mixtape, titled "Blacklisted". It was released on 2 December 2012 along with music videos to support the release prior to the release.


title: Skepta

text: In March 2014, Skepta provided a verse for the remix of "German Whip" by Meridian Dan, and in the same month, he released his new single, "That's Not Me", featuring his brother Jme, peaking at number 21 on the UK charts. The single's music video won the award for Best Video at the 2014 MOBO Awards. Upon receiving the award, Skepta stated that the video cost him £80. In late 2014, Skepta released another single titled "It Ain't Safe" featuring ASAP Bari. This was followed in early 2015 with "Shutdown", as well as features on "Red Eye to Paris" by Flatbush Zombies and the remix of "Ojuelegba" by Wizkid, also featuring Drake. Skepta and others joined Kanye West at a surprise show in London, performing numerous songs together during a shared set. He was also named one of "GQ"s 50 best dressed British men in 2015.


title: Skepta

text: In an interview it stated that Skepta's making his acting debut in 2015 film "Anti-Social", released initially in May. On 14 February 2016 Skepta released "Ladies Hit Squad" featuring grime artist D Double E and American rapper ASAP Nast, of the New York-based ASAP Mob. Through a post on Instagram, Skepta announced that his album, "Konnichiwa" was due to be released on 6 May 2016. "Konnichiwa" became Grime's highest-charting album, peaking at number 2 in the UK music charts. Konnichiwa features songs such as "That's Not Me", "Shutdown" and "Man". The release of "Konnichiwa" was celebrated with a launch party on 5 May 2016 held in Tokyo and live streamed on Boiler Room, featuring a live performance of the entire album by Skepta and supporting performances from Japanese trap artists Kohh, Dutch Montana, Loota, and DJ Riki.


title: Skepta

text: Skepta began his "Banned From America" two-part, 14-show tour on 16 April 2017 at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which covered cities throughout the United States and Europe. The tour was named as such in reference to Skepta's forced cancellation of his 2016 "No Fear" American tour in support of "Konnichiwa", when his application for a visa to enter the United States was denied.


title: Skepta

text: Skepta released his "Vicious EP" on 31 October 2017, with songs featuring ASAP Rocky, Lil B, and Section Boyz. In the summer of 2017, rumours on the underground dance scene suggested an imminent collaboration between Skepta and drum'n'bass pioneer Goldie. This was confirmed in Goldie's 2017 memoir "All Things Remembered", which refers to him having done a track with Skepta. It has not yet been released.


title: Skepta

text: Skepta featured on ASAP Rocky's "Praise the Lord (Da Shine)", which was released in May 2018. The single charted on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Also in May, Skepta released his single "Pure Water", which peaked at number 78 in the UK. He followed this in June with "Energy (Stay Far Away)" with Wizkid, which reached number 59. In December 2019 he appeared as himself in a Grand Theft Auto Online expansion as a radio host with Danny Brown. Brown also lent his voice to another fictional character in the game. He also collaborated with Gorillaz and Tony Allen on the song "How Far?" in May 2020.


title: Skepta

text: Skepta is also a visual artist, with his paintings made during the COVID lockdown being put on display by Sotheby's in September 2022 for the "Contemporary Curated" art series.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is an international organization that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, "", translates to "let there be bread". It was founded on 16 October 1945.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The FAO is composed of 195 members (including 194 countries and the European Union). Their headquarters is in Rome, Italy, and the FAO maintains regional and field offices around the world, operating in over 130 countries. It helps governments and development agencies coordinate their activities to improve and develop agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and land and water resources. It also conducts research, provides technical assistance to projects, operates educational and training programs, and collects data on agricultural output, production, and development.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The FAO is governed by a biennial conference representing each member country and the European Union, which elects a 49-member executive council. The Director-General, currently Qu Dongyu of China, serves as the chief administrative officer. There are various committees governing matters such as finance, programs, agriculture, and fisheries.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The idea of an international organization for food and agriculture emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century, advanced primarily by Polish-born American agriculturalist and activist David Lubin. In May–June 1905, an international conference was held in Rome, Italy, which led to the creation of the International Institute of Agriculture (IIA) by the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The IIA was the first intergovernmental organization to deal with the problems and challenges of agriculture on a global scale. It worked primarily to collect, compile, and publish data on agriculture, ranging from output statistics to a catalog of crop diseases. Among its achievements was the publication of the first agricultural census in 1930.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: World War II effectively ended the IIA. During the war, in 1943, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt called a League of Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture, which brought representatives from forty-four governments to The Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia, from 18 May to 3 June. The main impetus for the conference was British-born Australian economist Frank L. McDougall, who since 1935 had advocated for an international forum to address hunger and malnutrition.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The Conference ended with a commitment to establish a permanent organization for food and agriculture, which was achieved on 16 October 1945 in Quebec City, Canada, following the Constitution of the Food and Agriculture Organization. The First Session of the FAO Conference was held immediately afterward in the Château Frontenac in Quebec City from 16 October to 1 November 1945.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: After the war, the IIA was officially dissolved by resolution of its Permanent Committee on 27 February 1948. Its functions, facilities, and mandate were then transferred to the newly established FAO, which maintained its headquarters in Rome.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The FAO's initial functions supported agricultural and nutrition research and providing technical assistance to member countries to boost production in agriculture, fishery, and forestry. Beginning in the 1960s, it focused on efforts to develop high-yield strains of grain, eliminate protein deficiency, promote rural employment, and increases agricultural exports. The decrease of these resources was recognized as an urgent problem by the FAO in 1961, and created a joint collaboration with the International Biological Program (IBP) in 1967. To that end, it joined the UN General Assembly in creating the UN World Food Programme, the largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The FAO launched what would become the FAO Money and Medals Programme (MMP) in 1968. FAO issued collector art medals in various series to bring attention to FAO's goals and missions. This program was responsible for over a hundred medal designs issued to the collecting public. A thirtieth anniversary medal of the MMP was issued in 1998.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In 1974, in response to famine in Africa, the FAO convened the first World Food Summit to address widespread hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity. The meeting resulted in a proclamation that "every man, woman and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop their physical and mental faculties", and a global commitment to eradicate these issues within a decade. A subsequent summit in 1996 addressed the shortcomings in achieving this goal while establishing a strategic plan for eliminating hunger and malnutrition into the 21st century.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In 1951, the FAO's headquarters were moved from Washington, D.C., United States, to Rome, Italy. The agency is directed by the Conference of Member Nations, which meets every two years to review the work carried out by the organization and to Work and Budget for the next two-year period. The Conference elects a council of 49 member states (serve three-year rotating terms) that acts as an interim governing body, and the Director-General, who heads the agency.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The FAO is composed of eight departments: Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department, Economic and Social Development, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Forestry, Corporate Services and Technical Cooperation and Programme Management.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: Beginning in 1994, the FAO underwent the most significant restructuring since its founding, to decentralize operations, streamline procedures and reduce costs. As a result, savings of about US$50 million, €43 million a year were realized.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The FAO's Regular Programme budget is funded by its members, through contributions set at the FAO Conference. This budget covers core technical work, cooperation and partnerships including the Technical Cooperation Programme, knowledge exchange, policy and advocacy, direction and administration, governance and security.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The total FAO Budget planned for 2018–2019 is US$1,005.6 million. The voluntary contributions provided by members and other partners support mechanical and emergency (including rehabilitation) assistance to governments for clearly defined purposes linked to the results framework, as well as direct support to FAO's core work. The voluntary contributions are expected to reach approximately US$1.6 billion in 2016–2017.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: This overall budget covers core technical work, cooperation and partnerships, leading to Food and Agriculture Outcomes at 71 percent; Core Functions at 11 percent; the Country Office Network – 5 percent; Capital and Security Expenditure – 2 percent; Administration – 6 percent; and Technical and Cooperation Program – 5 percent.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The world headquarters is located in Rome, in the former seat of the Department of Italian East Africa. One of the most notable features of the building was the Axum Obelisk which stood in front of the agency seat, although just outside the territory allocated to the FAO by the Italian Government. It was taken from Ethiopia by Benito Mussolini's troops in 1937 as a war chest, and returned on 18 April 2005.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: Partnership and Liaison Offices provide for stronger country participation in the FAO's work and programmes at national, sub-regional, regional, and interregional levels as well as enhanced cooperation through unilateral trust fund projects and South–South cooperation.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: Two fundamental areas of work – gender and governance – are fully integrated in the above strategic objective action plans.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: FAO and the World Health Organization created the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1961 to develop food standards, guidelines and texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The main aims of the programme are protecting consumer health, ensuring fair trade and promoting co-ordination of all food standards work undertaken by intergovernmental and non-governmental organization.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In 1996, FAO organized the World Food Summit, attended by 112 Heads or Deputy Heads of State and Government. The Summit concluded with the signing of the Rome Declaration, which established the goal of halving the number of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. At the same time, 1,200 civil society organizations (CSOs) from 80 countries participated in an NGO forum. The forum was critical of the growing industrialization of agriculture and called upon governments – and FAO – to do more to protect the 'Right to Food' of the poor.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In 1997, FAO launched TeleFood, a campaign of concerts, sporting events and other activities to harness the power of media, celebrities and concerned citizens to help fighting hunger. Since its start, the campaign has generated close to US$28 million, €15 million in donations. Money raised through TeleFood pays for small, sustainable projects that help small-scale farmers produce more food for their families and communities.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The projects provide tangible resources, such as fishing equipment, seeds and agricultural implements. They vary enormously, from helping families raise pigs in Venezuela, through creating school gardens in Cape Verde and Mauritania or providing school lunches in Uganda and teaching children to grow food, to raising fish in a leper community in India.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The FAO Goodwill Ambassadors Programme was initiated in 1999. It was created to increase public awareness and to disseminate information about issues related to food security and hunger in the world.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In 2004 the Right to Food Guidelines were adopted, offering guidance to states on how to implement their obligations on the right to food.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In December 2007, FAO launched its Initiative on Soaring Food Prices to help small producers raise their output and earn more. Under the initiative, FAO contributed to the work of the UN High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis, which produced the Comprehensive Framework for Action. FAO has carried out projects in over 25 countries and inter-agency missions in nearly 60, scaled up its monitoring through the Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture, provided policy advice to governments while supporting their efforts to increase food production, and advocated for more investment in agriculture as well as provided funding to distribute and multiply quality seeds in Haiti, which has significantly increased food production, thereby providing cheaper food and boosting


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In May 2009, FAO and the European Union signed an initial aid package worth €125 million to support small farmers in countries hit hard by rising food prices. The aid package falls under the EU's €1 billion Food Facility, set up with the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis and FAO to focus on programmes that will have a quick but lasting impact on food security. FAO is receiving a total of around €200 million for work in 25 countries, of which €15.4 million goes to Zimbabwe.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The Special Programme for Food Security is FAO's flagship initiative for reaching the goal of halving the number of hungry in the world by 2015 (currently estimated at close to 1 billion people), as part of its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals. Through projects in over 100 countries worldwide, the programme promotes effective, tangible solutions to the elimination of hunger, undernourishment and poverty. Currently 102 countries are engaged in the programme and of these approximately 30 have begun shifting from pilot to national programmes. To maximize the impact of its work, FAO strongly promotes national ownership and local empowerment in the countries in which it operates.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The 1billionhungry project became the EndingHunger campaign in April 2011. Spearheaded by FAO in partnership with other UN agencies and private nonprofit groups, the EndingHunger movement pushes the boundaries of conventional public advocacy. It builds on the success in 2010 of The 1billonhungry project and the subsequent chain of public events that led to the collection of over three million signatures on a global petition to end hunger (www.EndingHunger.org). The petition was originally presented to representatives of world governments at a ceremony in Rome on 30 November 2010.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The web and partnerships are two pivotal and dynamic aspects of EndingHunger. The campaign relies on the assistance of organizations and institutions that can facilitate the project's diffusion, by placing banners on their own websites or organizing events aimed to raise awareness of the project. In its 2011 season, the campaign expanded its multimedia content, pursued mutual visibility arrangements with partner organizations, and sharpened its focus on 14- to 25-year-olds, who were encouraged to understand their potential as a social movement to push for the end of hunger.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: Moreover, the EndingHunger project is a viral communication campaign, renewing and expanding its efforts to build the movement through Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. Those who sign the petition can spread the link of the EndingHunger website to their friends, via social media or mail, in order to gain awareness and signatures for the petition. The next interim objective is to grow the EndingHunger movement's Facebook community to 1 million members. As with the petition, the more people who get involved, the more powerful the message to governments: "We are no longer willing to accept the fact that hundreds of millions live in chronic hunger." Groups and individuals can also decide on their own to organize an event about the project, simply by gathering friends, whistles, T-shirts and banners (whistles and T-shirts can be ordered, and petition sign sheets downloaded, on the endinghunger.org website) and thereby alert people about chronic hunger by using the yellow whistle.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The original 1billionhungry campaign borrowed as its slogan the line "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!", used by Peter Finch in the 1976 film, "Network". Meanwhile, the yellow whistle has been the campaign symbol from the start, from 1billionhungry to Ending Hunger. (The creative concept was provided by the McCann Erickson Italy Communication Agency.) It symbolizes the fact that we are "blowing the whistle" on the silent disaster of hunger. It is both a symbol and – at many live events taking place around the world – a physical means of expressing frustration and making some noise about the hunger situation.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: Both The 1billionhungry and the EndingHunger campaigns have continued to attract UN Goodwill Ambassadors from the worlds of music and cinema, literature, sport, activism and government. Some of the well known individuals who have become involved include former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, former presidents of Chile Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet, actress Susan Sarandon, actors Jeremy Irons and Raul Bova, singers Céline Dion and Anggun, authors Isabelle Allende and Andrea Camilleri, musician Chucho Valdés and Olympic track-and-field legend Carl Lewis.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: FAO created the International Plant Protection Convention or IPPC in 1952. This international treaty organization works to prevent the international spread of pests and plant diseases in both cultivated and wild plants. Among its functions are the maintenance of lists of plant pests, tracking of pest outbreaks, and coordination of technical assistance between member nations. As of July 2018, 183 contracting parties have ratified the treaty.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: FAO is depositary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, also called "Plant Treaty", "Seed Treaty" or "ITPGRFA", entered into force on 29 June 2004.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The Alliance Against Hunger and Malnutrition (AAHM) aims to address how countries and organizations can be more effective in advocating and carrying out actions to address hunger and malnutrition. As a global partnership, AAHM creates global connections between local, regional, national and international institutions that share the goals of fighting hunger and malnutrition. The organization works to address food security by enhancing resources and knowledge sharing and strengthening hunger activities within countries and across state lines at the regional and international levels.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: Following the World Food Summit, the Alliance was initially created in 2002 as the 'International Alliance Against Hunger (IAAH)' to strengthen and coordinate national efforts in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. The mission of the Alliance originates from the first and eighth UN Millennium Development Goals; reducing the number of people that suffer from hunger in half by 2015 (preceded by the "Rome Declaration" in 1996) and developing a global partnership for development. The Alliance was founded by the Rome-based food agencies – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UN World Food Programme (WFP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), – and Bioversity International.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: AAHM connects top-down and bottom-up anti-hunger development initiatives, linking governments, UN organizations, and NGOs together in order to increase effectiveness through unity.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: During the 1990s, FAO took a leading role in the promotion of integrated pest management for rice production in Asia. Hundreds of thousands of farmers were trained using an approach known as the Farmer Field School (FFS). Like many of the programmes managed by FAO, the funds for Farmer Field Schools came from bilateral Trust Funds, with Australia, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland acting as the leading donors. FAO's efforts in this area have drawn praise from NGOs that have otherwise criticized much of the work of the organization.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: FAO established an "Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases" in 1994, focusing on the control of diseases like rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease and avian flu by helping governments coordinate their responses. One key element is the "Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme", which has advanced to a stage where large tracts of Asia and Africa have now been free of the cattle disease rinderpest for an extended period of time. Meanwhile, the "" monitors the worldwide locust situation and keeps affected countries and donors informed of expected developments.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The Global Partnership Initiative for Plant Breeding Capacity Building (GIPB) is a global partnership dedicated to increasing plant breeding capacity building. The mission of GIPB is to enhance the capacity of developing countries to improve crops for food security and sustainable development through better plant breeding and delivery systems. The ultimate goal is to ensure that a critical mass of plant breeders, leaders, managers and technicians, donors and partners are linked together through an effective global network.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: Increasing capacity building for plant breeding in developing countries is critical for the achievement of meaningful results in poverty and hunger reduction and to reverse the current worrisome trends. Plant breeding is a well recognized science capable of widening the genetic and adaptability base of cropping systems, by combining conventional selection techniques and modern technologies. It is essential to face and prevent the recurrence of crises such as that


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: of the soaring food prices and to respond to the increasing demands for crop based sources of energy.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: FAO's technical cooperation department hosts an Investment Centre that promotes greater investment in agriculture and rural development by helping developing countries identify and formulate sustainable agricultural policies, programmes and projects. It mobilizes funding from multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, regional development banks and international funds as well as FAO resources.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) Partnership Initiative was conceptualized and presented by Parviz Koohafkan the Task Manager of Chapter 10 of Agenda 21 in Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nations, FAO in 2002 during World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. This UN Partnership Initiative aims to identify, support and safeguard Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems and their livelihoods, agricultural and associated biodiversity, landscapes, knowledge systems and cultures around the world. The GIAHS Partnership recognizes the crucial importance of the well-being of family farming communities in an integrated approach while directing activities towards sustainable agriculture and rural development.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was established in 1983 and provides a unique intergovernmental forum that specifically addresses biological diversity for food and agriculture. Its main objective is to ensure the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from its use, for present and future generations.http://www.fao.org/cgrfa/en/


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: FAO has a unit focused on Animal Genetic Resources, which are defined as "those animal species that are used, or may be used, for the production of food and agriculture, and the populations within each of them. These populations within each species can be classified as wild and feral populations, landraces and primary populations, standardised breeds, selected lines, varieties, strains and any conserved genetic material; all of which are currently categorized as Breeds." FAO assists countries in implementation of the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources. FAO supports a variety of "ex situ" and "in situ" conservation strategies including cryoconservation of animal genetic resources.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: One of FAO's strategic goals is the sustainable management of the world's forests. The "Forestry Division" works to balance social and environmental considerations with the economic needs of rural populations living in forest areas. FAO serves as a neutral forum for policy dialogue, as a reliable source of information on forests and trees and as a provider of expert technical assistance and advice to help countries develop and implement effective national forest programmes.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: FAO is both a global clearinghouse for information on forests and forest resources and a facilitator that helps building countries' local capacity to provide their own national forest data. In collaboration with member countries, FAO carries out periodic global assessments of forest resources, which are made available through reports, publications and the FAO's Web site. The "Global Forest Resources Assessment" provides comprehensive reporting on forests worldwide every five years. FRA 2020 is the most recent global assessment. The results, data and analyses are available online in different formats, including key findings, main report and country reports.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: Every two years, FAO publishes the "State of the World's Forests", a major report covering current and emerging issues facing the forestry sector.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: Since 1947, FAO has published the FAO Yearbook of Forest Products, a compilation of statistical data on basic forest products from over 100 countries and territories of the world. It contains data on the volume of production; and the volume, value and direction of trade in forest products.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: "Unasylva", FAO's peer-reviewed journal on forestry, has been published in English, French and Spanish on a regular basis since 1947, the longest-running multilingual forestry journal in the world.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The FAO is an official sponsor of International Day of Forests, on 21 March each year, as proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 November 2012.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: Every six years since 1926, FAO and a host member state hold the World Forestry Congress. It is a forum for the sharing of knowledge and experience regarding the conservation, management and use of the world's forests, and covers such issues as international dialogue, socio-economic and institutional aspects, and forest policies.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The Forestry Department is also organized geographically in several groups covering the whole world's forest ecosystems. One of them is the Silva mediterranea workgroup, covering the pan-mediterranean region.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: At the World Forum on Urban Forests in October 2018, the FAO and the Arbor Day Foundation jointly launched the Tree Cities of the World programme. The aim of this programme is to celebrate and recognize cities and towns of all sizes throughout the world which have shown a commitment to maintaining their urban forests. From the end of 2019, any municipality which has responsibility for its trees was able to apply to join Tree Cities of the World. On 4 February 2020, 59 cities were announced as having achieved the designation of Tree City of the World. There were 27 in the United States, with the rest scattered across the world.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The work of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department centers on the "Sustainable management and use of fisheries and aquaculture resource," embracing normative as well as operational activities, whether implemented from headquarters or from the field.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: ESSG is an acronym for the Global Statistics Service, the major "section" of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization - Statistics Division. It is responsible for updating and disseminating the FAOSTAT report. This offers free and easy access to data for 245 countries and 35 regional areas from 1961 through the most recent year available. Enhanced features include browsing and analysis of data, an advanced interactive data download, and enhanced data exchange through web services.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: Every year, FAO publishes a number of major 'State of the World' reports related to food, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and natural resources.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: As of 1 May 2020, the Organization has 194 Member Nations, one Member Organization, and two Associate Members.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: Some countries may denote specific representatives to the FAO, for instance the United States Ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, who has ambassador rank and is also a part of the United States Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: There has been public criticism of FAO for at least 30 years. Dissatisfaction with the organization's performance was among the reasons for the creation of two new organizations after the World Food Conference in 1974, namely the World Food Council and the International Fund for Agricultural Development; by the early eighties there was intense rivalry among these organizations. At the same time, the World Food Programme, which started as an experimental three-year programme under FAO, was growing in size and independence, with the Directors of FAO and WFP struggling for power.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: Early in 1989, the organization came under attack from Heritage Foundation, an American conservative think tank, which described the FAO as becoming "essentially irrelevant in combating hunger" due to a "bloated bureaucracy known for the mediocrity of its work and the inefficiency of its staff", which had become politicized. In September of the same year, the journal "Society" published a series of articles about FAO that included a contribution from the Heritage Foundation and a response by FAO staff member, Richard Lydiker, who was later described by the Danish Minister for Agriculture (who had herself resigned from the organization) as "FAO's chief spokesman for non-transparency".


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In 1990, the U.S. State Department expressed the view that "The Food and Agriculture Organization has lagged behind other UN organizations in responding to US desires for improvements in program and budget processes to enhance value for money spent".


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: A year later, in 1991, "The Ecologist" magazine produced a special issue under the heading "The UN Food and Agriculture Organization: Promoting World Hunger". The magazine included articles that questioned FAO's policies and practices in forestry, fisheries, aquaculture, and pest control. The articles were written by experts such as Helena Norberg-Hodge, Vandana Shiva, Edward Goldsmith, Miguel A. Altieri and Barbara Dinham.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The 2002 Food Summit organized by FAO was considered to have been ineffectual and unproductive by the official participants. Social movements, farmers, fisherfolk, pastoralists, indigenous peoples, environmentalists, women's organizations, trade unions and NGOs expressed their "collective disappointment in, and rejection of the official Declaration of the ... Summit".


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In 2004, FAO produced a controversial report called "Agricultural Biotechnology: meeting the needs of the poor?", which claimed that "agricultural biotechnology has real potential as a new tool in the war on hunger". In response to the report, more than 650 organizations from around the world signed an open letter in which they said "FAO has broken its commitment to civil society and peasants' organisations". The letter complained that organizations representing the interests of farmers had not been consulted, that FAO was siding with the biotechnology industry and, consequently, that the report "raises serious questions about the independence and intellectual integrity of an important United Nations agency". Jacques Diouf, the Director General of FAO at that time, responded immediately, stating that decisions on biotechnology must "be taken at the international level by competent bodies" (in other words, not by non-governmental organizations). He acknowledged, however, that "biotechnology research is essentially driven by the world's top ten transnational corporations" and "the private sector protects its results with patents in order to earn from its investment and it concentrates on products that have no relevance to food in developing countries".


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In May 2006, a British newspaper published the resignation letter of Louise Fresco, one of eight Assistant Directors-General of FAO. In her letter, Fresco stated that "the Organization has been unable to adapt to a new era", that its "contribution and reputation have declined steadily" and "its leadership has not proposed bold options to overcome this crisis".


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The 32nd Session of FAO's Committee on World Food Security in 2006, attended by 120 countries, was widely criticized by non-governmental organizations, but largely ignored by the mainstream media. Oxfam called for an end to the talk-fests while Via Campesina issued a statement that criticised FAO's policy of Food Security.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: On 18 October 2007, the final report of an Independent External Evaluation of FAO was published. More than 400 pages in length, the evaluation was the first of its kind in the history of the Organization. It had been commissioned by decision of the 33rd Session of the FAO Conference in November 2005. The report concluded that "The Organization is today in a financial and programme crisis" but "the problems affecting the Organization today can all be solved". Among the problems noted by the IEE were: "The Organization has been conservative and slow to adapt"; "FAO currently has a heavy and costly bureaucracy", and "The capacity of the Organization is declining and many of its core competencies are now imperilled". Among the solutions offered were: "A new Strategic Framework", "institutional culture change and reform of administrative and management systems". In conclusion the IEE stated that, "If FAO did not exist it would need to be invented".


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The official response from FAO came on 29 October 2007. It indicated that management supported the principal conclusion in the report of the IEE on the need for "reform with growth" so as to have an FAO "fit for this century". Meanwhile, hundreds of FAO staff signed a petition in support of the IEE recommendations, calling for "a radical shift in management culture and spirit, depoliticization of appointments, restoration of trust between staff and management, [and] setting strategic priorities of the organization".


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In May 2008, while talking about the ongoing world food crisis, President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal expressed the opinion that FAO was "a waste of money" and that "we must scrap it". Wade said that FAO was itself largely to blame for the price rises, and that the organization's work was duplicated by other bodies that operated more efficiently, like the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development. However, this criticism may have had more to do with personal animosity between the President and the Director-General, himself a Senegalese, particularly in light of the significant differences in the work carried out by the two organizations.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In June 2008, the FAO sponsored the High-Level Conference on World Food Security. The summit was notable for the lack of agreement over the issue of biofuels. The response to the summit among non-governmental organizations was mixed, with Oxfam stating that "the summit in Rome was an important first step in tackling the food crisis but greater action is now needed", while Maryam Rahmanian of Iran's Centre for Sustainable Development said "We are dismayed and disgusted to see the food crisis used to further the policies that have led us to the food crisis in the first place". As with previous food summits, civil society organizations held a parallel meeting and issued their own declaration to "reject the corporate industrial and energy-intensive model of production and consumption that is the basis of continuing crises."


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In November 2008, a Special Conference of FAO member countries agreed a US$42.6 million (€38.6 million), three-year Immediate Plan of Action for "reform with growth", as recommended by the IEE. Under the plan US$21.8 million would be spent on overhauling the financial procedures, hierarchies and human resources management.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: From 2013, an English-language newspaper based in Rome, "The Italian Insider", made several allegations of nepotism and corruption within FAO and reported on poor management-staff relations. In June 2018, FAO and four of its officials took the paper and its editor, John Philips, to court alleging defamation, using a law dating back to the fascist era in Italy. Reporters Without Borders condemned "the disproportionate nature of the defamation proceedings", for which the newspaper was liable for a fine of up to Euros 100,000 and the editor at least three years in prison. The case was adjourned until January 2019, when it was further adjourned until May 2019. The January hearing was considered by the British satirical magazine "Private Eye" to have been "one of the more surreal courtroom scenes in modern times", involving dispute as to the meaning of an English slang word used by the "Insider".


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In 2016/17 FAO was heavily criticized for recruiting Nadine Heredia Alarcón de Humala, wife of the former president of Peru, Ollanta Humala, to a senior position, at a time when she was being investigated by Peru following corruption allegations. Critics included Transparency International.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: At the end of April 2017, FAO staff unions addressed the organization's Governing Council to complain about the practice of issuing short-term contracts that "exploit employees without providing job security, social security and paid leave". Other complaints included the increasing centralization of management processes, despite claims that FAO was being decentralized, and the failure to follow United Nations recommendations regarding increasing the retirement age. The staff representative also complained about the high percentage of unfilled positions, increasing the workload for others who were under pressure to deliver more with less. She also noted that contacts between Management and the staff bodies were becoming less and less frequent.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: The FAO Conference in November 2007 unanimously welcomed the IEE report and established a Conference Committee for the Follow-up to the Independent External Evaluation of FAO (CoC-IEE) to be chaired by the Independent Chairperson of Council, and open to full participation by all Members. The CoC-IEE was charged to review the IEE report and its recommendations and develop an Immediate Plan of Action (IPA) for their implementation.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: A comprehensive programme of organizational reform and culture change began in 2008 after the release of an Independent External Evaluation. Headquarters restructuring and delegation of decision making created a flatter more responsive structure and reduced costs. Modernizing and streamlining of administrative and operational processes took place. Improved internal teamwork and closer external partnerships coupled with upgrading of IT infrastructure and greater autonomy of FAO's decentralized offices now allows the Organization to respond quickly where needs are greatest. As FAO is primarily a knowledge based organization, investing in human resources is a top priority. Capacity building including a leadership programme, employee rotation and a new junior professional programme were established. Individual performance management, an ethics and ombudsman officer and an independent office of evaluation were designed to improve performance through learning and strengthened oversight.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In January 2012, the Director-General José Graziano da Silva acted upon the commitment made during his campaign to bring the FAO reform to a successful and anticipated completion. In addition, the new Director-General shifted the focus of the reform process to realization of its benefits and mainstreaming the reform into the work of the Organization.


title: Food and Agriculture Organization

text: In July 2020, the FAO Council approved a series of measures proposed by its Director-General Qu Dongyu to modernize the organisation and make it more efficient and effective. An important element within the approved measures is the adoption "of a more flexible organizational structure, aimed at ensuring agility, optimal cross-sectoral collaboration and better responses to emerging needs and priorities".


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: "Creep" is the debut single by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 21 September 1992. It appeared on their debut studio album, "Pablo Honey" (1993).


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: Thom Yorke's lyrics express an obsessive, self-destructive sexual attraction. When the song moves to the chorus, Jonny Greenwood produces blasts of guitar noise. Radiohead took elements from the 1974 song "The Air That I Breathe"; following legal action, Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood are credited as cowriters.


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: Radiohead had not planned to release "Creep", and recorded it at the suggestion of the producers, Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie, while they were working on other songs. Kolderie convinced their record label, EMI, to release "Creep" as a single. It was not initially a success, but achieved radio play in Israel and became popular on American alternative rock radio. It was reissued in 1993 and became a worldwide hit, likened to alt-rock "slacker anthems" such as <nowiki>"</nowiki>Smells Like Teen Spirit<nowiki>"</nowiki> by Nirvana and <nowiki>"</nowiki>Loser" by Beck.


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: Reviews of "Creep" were mostly positive. EMI pressured Radiohead to match its success, which created tension during the recording of their second album, "The Bends" (1995). "Creep" is atypical of Radiohead's later work; the band grew weary of it, feeling it set narrow expectations of their music, and did not perform it for several years. Though they achieved greater commercial and critical success with later albums, "Creep" remains Radiohead's most successful single. It was named one of the greatest debut singles and one of the greatest songs by "Rolling Stone." In 2021, Yorke released a remixed version with synthesisers and time-stretched acoustic guitar.


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: Radiohead's debut release, the "Drill" EP, was released in 1992 by EMI. For their debut single, Radiohead hired the American producers Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie and recorded at Chipping Norton Recording Studios in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. They worked on the songs "Inside My Head" and "Lurgee", but without results. Between rehearsals, Radiohead spontaneously performed another song, "Creep", which the singer, Thom Yorke, had written at Exeter University in the late 1980s. Yorke jokingly described it as their "Scott Walker song", which Slade and Kolderie misinterpreted; as they left the studio that night, Slade told Kolderie, "Too bad their best song's a cover."


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: After further recording sessions failed to produce results, Kolderie suggested Radiohead record "Creep". Radiohead performed it one take, after which everyone in the studio burst into applause. After Radiohead assured Kolderie that "Creep" was an original song, he called EMI and convinced them to release it as the single. According to Kolderie, "Everyone [at EMI] who heard Creep just started going insane."


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: The version issued for radio play replaces the line "so fucking special" with "so very special". Radiohead worried that issuing a censored version would be selling out, but decided it was acceptable since their idols Sonic Youth had done the same thing; nonetheless, guitarist Jonny Greenwood said the British press "weren't impressed". During the recording session for the censored lyrics, Kolderie convinced Yorke to rewrite the first verse, saying he thought Yorke could do better.


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: Greenwood said the lyrics were inspired by a girl that Yorke had followed around and who unexpectedly attended a Radiohead performance. John Harris, then the Oxford correspondent for "Melody Maker", said "Creep" was about a girl who frequented the upmarket Little Clarendon Street in Oxford. According to Harris, Yorke preferred the more bohemian Jericho, and expressed his discomfort with the lines "What the hell am I doing here / I don't belong here".


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: Asked about "Creep" in 1993, Yorke said: "I have a real problem being a man in the '90s... Any man with any sensitivity or conscience toward the opposite sex would have a problem. To actually assert yourself in a masculine way without looking like you're in a hard-rock band is a very difficult thing to do... It comes back to the music we write, which is not effeminate, but it's not brutal in its arrogance. It is one of the things I'm always trying: to assert a sexual persona and on the other hand trying desperately to negate it." Greenwood said "Creep" was in fact a happy song about "recognising what you are". Yorke said he was not happy with the lyrics, and "thought they were pretty crap".


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: The G–B–C–Cm chord progression is repeated throughout the song, only alternating between arpeggiated chords in the verses and last chorus and loud power chords during the first two choruses. In G major, these may be interpreted as "I–V7/vi–IV–iv". According to Guy Capuzzo, the ostinato musically portrays "the song's obsessive lyrics, which depict the 'self-lacerating rage of an unsuccessful crush'." For example, the "highest pitches of the ostinato form a prominent chromatic line that 'creeps' up, then down, involving scale degrees formula_1– formula_1– formula_3– formula_3...[while] ascend[ing], the lyrics strain towards optimism... Descend[ing], the subject sinks back into the throes of self-pity ... The guitarist's fretting hand mirrors this contour."


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: The middle eight originally featured a guitar solo from Greenwood. When the guitarist Ed O'Brien pointed out that the chord progression was the same as the 1972 song "The Air That I Breathe", Yorke wrote a new middle eight using the same vocal melody. According to Greenwood, "It was funny to us in a way, sort of feeding something like that into [it]. It's a bit of change."


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: When the song shifts from the verse to the chorus, Jonny Greenwood plays three blasts of guitar noise ("dead notes" played by releasing fret-hand pressure and picking the strings). Greenwood said he did this because he did not like how quiet the song was; he explained: "So I hit the guitar hard—really hard." O'Brien said: "That's the sound of Jonny trying to fuck the song up. He really didn't like it the first time we played it, so he tried spoiling it. And it made the song." Slade and Kolderie suggested that Greenwood add piano. During the final mix, Kolderie forgot to add the piano until the outro; however, the band approved of the result. According to the "Guardian" critic Alexis Petridis, "Creep" has an "almost complete lack of resemblance" to Radiohead's later music.


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: The "Creep" music video was filmed at the Venue, Oxford. For the video, Radiohead performed a free short concert, playing "Creep" several times. They donated proceeds from audience members to the Oxford magazine "Curfew", which had covered their early work. In the audience was the electronic musician Four Tet, then a teenager, who later supported Radiohead on tour and collaborated with Yorke.


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: EMI released "Creep" as a single on 21 September 1992, when it reached number 78 on the UK Singles Chart, selling 6,000 copies. BBC Radio 1 found it "too depressing" and excluded it from playlists. Radiohead released the follow-up singles "Anyone Can Play Guitar" and "Pop Is Dead", which were unsuccessful. "Creep" was included on Radiohead's debut album, "Pablo Honey," released on 22 February 1993.


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: Towards the end of 1992, the Israeli DJ Yoav Kutner played "Creep" often on Israeli radio, having been introduced to it by an EMI representative, and it became a national hit. Radiohead quickly set up tour dates in Israel to capitalise on the success. "Creep" had similar success in New Zealand, Spain, and Scandinavia. In the US, "Creep" became an underground hit in California after it was added to an alternative rock radio playlist in San Francisco. A censored version was released to radio stations. By mid-1993, "Creep" had become an alt-rock hit in America, a "slacker anthem" in the vein of <nowiki>"</nowiki>Smells Like Teen Spirit<nowiki>"</nowiki> by Nirvana and <nowiki>"</nowiki>Loser" by Beck. Radiohead were surprised by the success; Yorke told "Melody Maker" in 1993 that many journalists misunderstood it, asking him if it was a joke. In September 1993, Radiohead performed "Creep" on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" as the show's first musical guests.


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: Radiohead did not want to reissue "Creep" in the UK, but they relented following pressure from the music press, EMI and fans. The reissue, released in the UK on 6 September, 1993, reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart. The release was bolstered by a "Top of the Pops" performance in September, which drew criticism from music journalists and artists including Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher. In the US, "Creep" was aided by its appearance in a 1994 episode of the MTV animated series "Beavis and Butt-Head"; Capitol, Radiohead's US label, used the endorsement in a marketing campaign with the slogan "Beavis and Butt-Head Say [Radiohead] Don't Suck". An acoustic version of "Creep", taken from a live performance on KROQ-FM on 13 July 1993, was included on Radiohead's 1994 EP "My Iron Lung".


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: In June 2008, "Creep" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 37 after its inclusion on "". As of April 2019, in the UK, it was the most streamed song released in 1992, with 10.1 million streams. It remains Radiohead's most successful single.


title: Creep (Radiohead song)

text: Larry Flick of "Billboard" wrote in his review of the reissue, "Minimal cut, boosted with just a touch of noise, relies mainly on an appropriately languid, melodic vocal (which also vaults into Bono-esque falsetto range) to pull the whole thing together. A possible spinner for alternative and college radio." Troy J. Augusto from "Cashbox" described it as a song "for all those of the post-pimple set who just can't find their way in this big ol' world. Vocalist Thom Yorke is our too-self-aware hero who won't let a little disillusionment keep him down. Song's hook is the razor-sharp guitar play that frames Yorke's gnashing of teeth." Marisa Fox of "Entertainment Weekly" wrote that "Creep" was "the ultimate neurotic teen anthem", marrying the self-consciousness of the Smiths, the vocals and guitar of U2, and the "heavy but crunchy pop" of the Cure. A reviewer from "People" called it a "startling pop song" and a "gripping descent into love's dark regrets". Tom Doyle from "Smash Hits" gave it four out of five, adding, "The best things about this record are: 1) singer Thom Yorke's lyrics lamenting his life as a freak; 2) the big crunching guitar and delirious chorus. It's the sort of record that'll make you weep with joy and it should be Number 1."