The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is a Christian denominational church and an international charitable organization structured in a quasi-military fashion. The organization reports a worldwide membership of over 1.5 million, consisting of soldiers, officers and adherents known as Salvationists. Its founders Catherine and William Booth sought to bring salvation to the poor, destitute and hungry by meeting both their "physical and spiritual needs". It is present in 127 countries, running charity shops, operating shelters for the homeless, and providing personal hygiene products and disaster relief and humanitarian aid to developing countries.

The theology of the Salvation Army is derived from that of Methodism although it is distinctive in institution and practice. The Army's doctrine is typical of evangelical Protestant denominations. The Army's purposes are "the advancement of the Christian religion… of education, the relief of poverty, and other charitable objects beneficial to society or the community of mankind as a whole."

Songster

A "songster" is a wandering musician, usually but not always African-American, of the type which first appeared in the late 19th century in the southern United States.

Songsters in American culture

The songster tradition both pre-dated and co-existed with blues music. It began soon after the end of slavery and the Reconstruction era in the United States, when African-American musicians became able to travel and play music for a living. Black and white musicians shared the same repertoire and thought of themselves as "songsters" rather than "blues" musicians.

Songsters generally performed a wide variety of folk songs, ballads, dance tunes, reels and minstrel songs. Initially, they were often accompanied by non-singing "musicianers", who often played banjo and fiddle. Later, as the guitar became more widely popular, the songsters often accompanied themselves.

Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell (/ˈpɜːrsəl/; c. 10 September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Although incorporating Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, Purcell's legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest English composers; no other native-born English composer approached his fame until Edward Elgar.

Early life and career

Purcell was born in St Ann's Lane, Old Pye Street Westminster – the area of London later known as Devil's Acre – in 1659. Henry Purcell Senior, whose older brother Thomas Purcell (d. 1682) was also a musician, was a gentleman of the Chapel Royal and sang at the coronation of King Charles II of England. Henry the elder had three sons: Edward, Henry and Daniel. Daniel Purcell (d. 1717), the youngest of the brothers, was also a prolific composer who wrote the music for much of the final act of The Indian Queen after Henry Purcell's death. Henry Purcell's family lived just a few hundred yards west of Westminster Abbey from 1659 onwards.

The Salvation (Skyzoo album)

The Salvation is the debut album of Brooklyn rapper Skyzoo. The album was released on September 29, 2009, via Jamla Records, founded by 9th Wonder, which is a sub-label of Duck Down Records. Upon release Skyzoo described it as autobiographical and his most personal work. Primarily featuring Skyzoo's lyrics, among the contributing producers are Best Kept Secret, 9th Wonder, Nottz, Just Blaze, Illmind, Needlz and Black Milk. It charted on various Billboard charts, reaching No. 126 on the Billboard 200, No. 4 on the Top Heatseekers, and No. 14 on the Tastemaker Albums chart. The album was acclaimed. AllMusic gave it a positive review and a rating of 4/5, while XXL gave it 4/5.

Production and themes

The Brooklyn-raised emcee stated that he had been planning this album since he was 9 years old.The Salvation provides an intricate view into Skyzoo's life and experiences. The diverse range of production and the autobiographical nature is in contrast to his previous releases, with Skyzoo describing it at the time as his most personal work. A tactic taken by Skyzoo to emphasize the personal aspect of The Salvation was to not load the album up with features from other rappers, explaining that "the moment you pick up a pen or start rhyming as a kid, all you think about is getting an album out. This album isn't exactly the way I planned it out at 9-years-old, but it tells my story. With that being said, no one can help tell my story better than me. The Salvation is about me."

The International

The International may refer to: