Background: Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by 1980s punk veterans Tim Armstrong, and Matt Freeman, who previously played in the highly influential ska punk band Operation Ivy, Rancid is often credited (along with Green Day and The Offspring) for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States and bringing punk rock into the mainstream during the mid-1990s. Over their 27-year career, Rancid remained signed to an independent record label and retained much of its original fan-base, most of which was connected to its underground roots. Rancid has had two lineup changes since its inception.
Context: While Rancid was writing for a follow-up album, Billie Joe Armstrong joined them to co-write the song "Radio", which resulted in Armstrong playing a live performance with Rancid. Tim had previously asked Lars Frederiksen to be Rancid's second guitarist, but he turned down the request initially as he was playing with the UK Subs at the time. After Billie Joe turned down the request, Frederiksen changed his mind and joined Rancid. Frederiksen played with the band on its second studio album Let's Go (1994). That year, its then-label-mates, The Offspring, experienced huge success with its album Smash. Rancid supported the Offspring's 1994 tour, which helped Let's Go reach number 97 on Billboard's Heatseekers and the Billboard 200 charts, respectively. The album also provided its first widespread exposure when MTV broadcast the video for the single "Salvation." Let's Go was certified gold on July 7, 2000, and with the success of the album, the band was pursued by a number of major record labels, including Madonna's label Maverick Records. Many rumors circulated during this time period. Some of the rumors were Epitaph employees were not allowed to discuss matters with the press, Rancid convinced an A&R man from Epic to shave a blue mohawk, and Madonna sent the band nude pictures of herself. The band eventually decided to remain signed to Epitaph, and the next year released its third album ...And Out Come the Wolves on August 22, 1995. The album quickly surpassed Let's Go in terms of success, and reached number 45 on the Billboard 200 album chart. on January 22, 1996, the album was certified gold. The album received positive reviews, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the album as having "classic moments of revivalist punk". Erlewine praised the music and claims the album "doesn't mark an isolationist retreat into didactic, defiantly underground punk rock". Three of the album's singles, "Roots Radicals", "Time Bomb", and "Ruby Soho" all charted on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, and earned Rancid its heaviest airplay on MTV and radio stations to date. The band also performed "Roots Radicals" and "Ruby Soho" on Saturday Night Live.
Question: did they win awards?
Answer: Three of the album's singles, "Roots Radicals", "Time Bomb", and "Ruby Soho" all charted on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, and

Background: Henry Hill, Jr. was born on June 11, 1943 in Manhattan, New York, to Henry Hill, Sr., an Irish immigrant and electrician, and Carmela Costa Hill, a Sicilian. The working-class family consisted of Henry and his eight siblings who grew up in Brownsville, a poorer area of the East New York section of Brooklyn. From an early age, Hill admired the local mobsters who socialized across the street from his home, including Paul Vario, a capo in the Lucchese crime family. In 1955, when Hill was 11 years old, he wandered into the cabstand across the street looking for a part-time after-school job.
Context: Hill testified against his former associates to avoid a possible execution by his crew or going to prison for his crimes. His testimony led to 50 convictions. Jimmy Burke was given 20 years in prison for the 1978-79 Boston College point shaving scandal, involving fixing Boston College basketball games. Burke was also later sentenced to life in prison for the murder of scam artist Richard Eaton. Burke died of lung cancer while serving his life sentence, on April 13, 1996, at the age of 64. Paul Vario received four years for helping Henry Hill obtain a no-show job to get him paroled from prison. Vario was also later sentenced to ten years in prison for the extortion of air freight companies at JFK Airport. He died of respiratory failure on November 22, 1988, at age 73 while incarcerated in the FCI Federal Prison in Fort Worth. Hill, his wife Karen, and their two children (Gregg and Gina) entered the U.S. Marshals' Witness Protection Program in 1980, changed their names, and moved to undisclosed locations in Omaha, Nebraska; Independence, Kentucky; Redmond, Washington; and Seattle, Washington. In Seattle, Hill hosted backyard cookouts for his neighbors, and on one occasion, while under the influence of a combination of liquor and drugs, he revealed his true identity to his guests. To the ire of the federal marshals, they were forced to relocate him one final time to Sarasota, Florida. There, a few months had passed, and Hill repeated the same breach of security, causing the government to finally expel him from the Federal Witness Protection Program.
Question: was Hill an informant?
Answer:
Hill testified against his former associates to avoid a possible execution by his crew or going to prison for his crimes.