Don’t be surprised if I tell you that another reality TV show is in the works. Chris Brown is teaming up with ‘Survivor’ producer Mark Burnett to make a new dance competition series with an emphasis on hip hop/street dance. The R&B sensation will pit contestants against one another in impromptu dance-offs in the as yet untitled project with Chris choosing the winner of each round. Chris commented on the show saying “Dancing is more than just a way of moving, it’s a different expression of music. That’s what I want to focus on with this show.” Burnett also commented on why he chose Chris for the show saying “Chris Brown really is a superstar, and someone who lives and breathes music and dance — so his credibility is massive in this arena. It’s his show; he’s headlining it. He’s the final arbiter on those who win and those who don’t.”
The R&B prince Chris Brown and his R&B princess Rihanna performed at the Louisiana Superdome during the 2008 Essence Music Festival on Friday, the Fourth of July, in New Orleans. In other news, Billboard recently did a review of Rihanna’s latest single ‘Disturbia’ saying “…It’s safe to say that Rihanna is the premier artist of the second half of the decade, with no signs of wear and tear. This latest is a sort of ‘Thriller’ for partygoers, with multilayered vocals cascading across Ri’s lower register, alongside fun scatting, a la ‘bum bum bi dum bum’ with co-writing (and background vocals) from the irrepressible Chris Brown…”
Rihanna performed on CBS’ The Early Show on Friday morning at New York City’s CBSStudiosPlaza. Her performance is going to air at a later date though. In other news, the 20-year old Barbadian beauty reacently spoke to Extra at the Cartier LOVECHARITY event. When she was asked about her romantic life, the singer replied “No, I am not in love.” Then what is she doing with Chris Brown then? Is it all just an act? Is the R&B crooner getting played by a girl who keeps claiming they’re like brother and sister? If so, it sucks to be him.
Missy Elliot is coming out with her long-awaited new album ‘Block Party’ later this summer. You don’t have to wait that long to see what her album’s like though as her first single has recently dropped. ‘Best, Best’ is and R&B tune with Missy trading her trademark rapping skills for singing. The song was produced by Timbaland’s protégé, Danja. I like it but I don’t love it. Here’s the thing, it’s Missy’s first single in a good while and she’s singing, which isn’t what she’s known for nor is it her forte. If you ask me, she should have come out with a party-sounding rap song and then just came out with this single as her second release just to shock people.
While it has been deemed that R&B singer Sean Levert died of natural causes while in prison, it’s not stopping his widow from filing a lawsuit against jail officials who she accuses of failing to look after his medical condition. Levert died on March 30 after falling ill in jail. The exact cause was determined to be natural causes as he had high blood pressure. However, his widow, Angela Lowe, says that jail officials didn’t look after his medical condition properly and is now seeking unspecified damages. Sean was in jail serving a 22-month sentence for skipping out of child support.
Ne-Yo has slammed RnB performers saying the genre has become “boring”. The Closer singer, real name Shaffer Chimere Smith claims today’s artists are too alike.
He told MTV: “RnB today is nowhere near where it used to be back in the day. Everyone’s on this copycat thing right now where all the music is beginning to sound alike and I don’t dig it.”
Ne-Yo also blames the use of the same producers making everyone sound the same.
He adds: “If you go to Timbaland for a song, then he is going to give you a Timbaland beat… No disrespect to Timbaland but if everyone eats at the same place then in a minute it’s going to get boring.”
R&B singer Ashanti is featured in the June 2008 issue of Maxim. The singer is sexily promoting her new album ‘The Declaration’ which will drop in stores on June 3. Ashanti talks about the album in her interview saying “I’m declaring that I’m here. The album is a new sound for me. I found out so much about myself working with new people. Everything had kind of been in-house for me, so I was used to having a security blanket—like Linus from Peanuts with his blue blanket. I’m declaring that it’s been four years and a lot of people had questions, but I’m here, baby.”
Tragedy is never easy to take, but how much is too much? Another Levert has died and the sad part is, this one died in jail. Sean Levert, son of O’Jays singer Eddie Levert and brother of late R&B legend Gerald Levert died last weekend while in a Cleveland jail. Levert had been in jail serving time for failing to pay child support when he collapsed late in the night. He was rushed to the hospital where he passed away. Police were said to be unaware of any condition he was suffering from and they are now investigating the cause of death.
Sean was a member of the 80s group Levert. He was also featured in a few movies, including ‘New Jack City’.
Jay-Z has retired from hip hop and came out of retirement about three times already. He’s also just retired from the record exec racket a few months ago. But as his track record goes, he’s coming out of retirement from that too.
Rush & Molloy report that the rap mogul could be on his way back to starting his own label again. This time, with a guy who used to be his rival. He and Lyor Cohen of Warner Music are in talks about putting together the Carter Music Group which is a reference to Jay-Z’s real name of Shawn Carter.
R Kelly recently cancelled a big gig in Minneapolis because he decided to show up for a court appearance in Chicago. But now, a concert promoter wants his money back and is trying to haul the elusive singer into an Atlanta court.
In a lawsuit filed in Atlanta District Court, the Nevada-based promoter Royalty Records (through its associate company Marjani Clothing) alleges that the R&B singer agreed to perform at Target Center on December 6, 2007 with Ne-Yo and Keyshia Cole among others. He moved that show to the 20th but then did not show because he went to court in Chicago on threat of arrest.
Bobby Brown could wind up slapped with possession charges next month. While the piece of news isn’t exactly shocking for the R&B singer, I’m just wondering how this flew under the radar. Whitney’s ex-husband is due in a Boston area court on February 19th for a closed-door clerk’s hearing on whether he should get charged or not. The hearing stems from an incident in Brockton, Mass., on December 1st.
Authorities were called to a hotel for a report of a disturbance. When they arrived, troopers found Brown outside of a vehicle. Sources say that troopers found some drugs and Brown asked if he could “use discretion” and not charge him. That was when state police filed paperwork for the clerk’s hearing.
R&B superstar Chris Brown is touring all over the US right now but the guy who designed his sets says that the singer forgot to make one destination – the bank! A lawsuit has been filed against the ‘Kiss Kiss’ singer in federal court on Christmas Eve by John Troxtel who designed concert sets for Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Michael Jackson. He says that he was paid for some of his design work but “extra work was required and requested”. Troxtel alleges that an oral agreement was reached but when it came time to pay up, the touring company refused.
Troxtel is suing for breach of contract and unjust enrichment and is seeking damages of up to $1 million.
It’s apparent that lawyers don’t take vacations as a lawsuit can be filed over the holidays. R&B crooner Ne-Yo proved just that when he chose to sue fellow crooner R. Kelly. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles on Monday and alleges that Ne-Yo was fired as an opening act from Kelly’s tour a few months ago because he outshined the headliner and got a better response from the crowd.
Ne-Yo is claiming that he was set to earn $785,000 for opening for Kelly at a minimum of 25 concerts. It’s pretty clear that Ne-Yo wants his money’s worth. Happy New Year, R! Here’s a lawsuit to celebrate with.
It’s been swirling around the rumor mill for a while now and it has finally been proven to be true. Rapper/entrepreneur Jay-Z is stepping down as president/CEO of Def Jam Records after 3 years with the label.
Jay-Z announced it on Christmas eve saying “It’s really about trying to invest in the future, trying to invest in maybe coming up with a new model. Because going in hard making records with artists and throwing those records into a system that’s flawed is not exciting for me. It’s not the music; people ingest music the same way. It’s just that the model of selling CDs has changed. So doing things the typical way is not in the best interests of anyone and not exciting for me. My whole thing is, how do we invest in the future? If everyone is committed to doing that, then I’m sure there’s a deal to be made.”
At her sold out Wembley gig last night, Rihanna proved she can hold her own against any of the strong female legends of pop as she rocked the stage in some very hot outfits.
The performance certainly drove away any ‘teen-pop’ image she may have been carrying. With awesome stage presence, powerhouse vocals and moves that would have Beyonce shaking in her boots; the fans went nuts.
I doubt the many changes of PVC bondage outfits harmed the effect either.
Remember the ‘Grey Album’? It’s the one where Gnarls Barkley’s Danger Mouse took Jay-Z and mashed it up with the Beatles and became one of the most downloaded bootlegs of all time. Now, a DC-based DJ named DJ Doc Rok has made a CD which mixed Jay-Z’s new album ‘American Gangster’ with some classic Led Zeppelin tracks. It’s a pretty cool mix.
Jay-Z is proving to be one hot commodity for these remixes. And it’s not just with new bands like he did with Linkin Park. Even when you mix his stuff in with some of the best known classics, it still turns out great.
Mary J. Blige performed on Thursday night at “CNN Heroes: All Star Tribute”. She sang “Come To Me (Peace)”, a new song from her upcoming studio album entitled “Growing Pains”
Keyshia Cole is about a week late for Thanksgiving. And I think she has the roles confused. She’s supposed to eat the turkey and not be the turkey. Who the heck told her that it was okay for her to wear what looks like feather fluff? Her stylist needs to be fired!
The R&B singer looked like the stuffed bird that got away from the Thanksgiving dinner table when she was at the taping of BET’s 106 & Park on Wednesday. It’s like a cross of Bjork’s legendary swan dress and the Olsen twins wardrobe from a couple of years ago.
There appears to be congratulations in order for singer Usher and his wife; as their first child arrived into the world at 9.30pm on Monday (26-11-07). Originally, they named baby son, Usher. Usher Raymond V to be precise.
So is that like calling him Junior? Well, if so, little Jr. was a healthy 7lb 9oz; and the couple are overjoyed. “We are so happy and proud of our beautiful son. What a blessing!”
I have to say it’s lovely and refreshing to not be writing about crazy stars doing drug related, alcohol related or generally weird related things for once. I have already mentioned this week the planned wedding of Kanye West and his girlfriend; and now the happy family here. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy… until tomorrow when someone is bound to have done something stupid. Again.
Everyone in the music know-how is aware that Whitney Houston is planning to make a comeback. Well now, it’s official. The pop/R&B diva is set to make her official return to being a performer at the Live & Loud music festival in Malaysia on the 1st of December.
Whitney is said to be performing an hour-long set of her classic hits and people are saying that she’s very excited about all of it. She was so excited in fact, that she just had to make a video about her comeback gig which has already made its way around the internet.
Bobby Brown may be going through a career change by trying to make it in country but did you ever fathom that Beyonce could do that same?
In a surprising move, Beyonce put a sweet country twist to her massive hit ‘Irreplaceable’ and even brought in Sugarland country crusaders Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush at the 2007 American Music Awards.
Beyonce was also recognized with the International Artist Award of Excellence. It’s a huge achievement because not only is she the first female artist to ever receive it but she also joins a list of legends including Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, Led Zeppelin, the Bee Gees and Aerosmith.
Out of four albums released over the span of her career, all four have debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts. Her most recent album was released last week, entitled As I Am.
A #1 debut is not her only Thanksgiving blessing this week, though. Keys has already sold 742,400 copies and is her highest performing debut yet. Her first album Songs in a Minor (2001) sold 235,800 copies while her sophomore album The Diary of Alicia Keys sold 618,300. Unplugged (2005) sold approximately 196,000 copies. This year, her closest competition was Josh Groban’s Neel, a Christmas themed album, which hit #2 with around 223,000 copies.
This recent increase in album sales has shown us that it is indeed beginning to look at a lot like Christmas. And a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised to find a copy of the R&B songster’s latest gift in their stockings!
Well it seems there is a little R&B artist rivalry going on. Just one week into R Kelly’s ‘Double Up’ tour, Ne-Yo has been relieved of his duties as opening act. Now the statement from his label would not elaborate, but if you ask the artist about the reasons behind this it’s a simple case of “I’m better than he is” school boy type chant.
What he will actually tell you is the reviews came back after the first week and raved more about Ne-Yo than they did about R Kelly, creating the theory our Mr Kelly doesn’t like being upstaged so has sacked the reason…What Kelly’s spokespeople will say is that the cause was due to “contractual agreements not being met”.
Children, children can we please play nice together? What do we believe folks? After all R Kelly is said to be the nicest guy in the R&B business, but no one ever said he might be a bit petty, maybe a little jealous of the younger, more successful artists. Or maybe, like his label insists, Kelly is confident enough in himself to happily share the stage with such talented acts as Ne-Yo; and maybe the latter truly just screwed up.
Keith Sweat, the celebrated master of the slow jam, unwraps his first-ever holiday music collection, proving there’s no one better qualified to deliver a Yuletide disc titled A Christmas Of Love. The R&B and soul superstar’s new album of newly recorded contemporary Christmas songs will be available November 20 at all retail outlets and online.
The album’s nine songs spotlight the Harlem-born singer’s signature mix of smooth vocals coupled with warm, supple groove. Sweat puts his unmistakable mark on the classic “The Christmas Song,” as well as “Under The Tree,” “Once A Year” and “It’s Christmas Again”– a trio of songs Sweat cowrote. With “Point Of Christmas,” the religious artist pays tribute to the “reason for the season.”
He has sold more than 14 million records and garnered five #1 R&B albums, 15 Top 10 R&B singles, six #1 hits, four Top 5 pop singles, three multi-platinum and three platinum albums, two platinum and three gold singles, widespread critical acclaim and a rabid international following. Today, Sweat hosts his own syndicated radio show, The Sweat Hotel, in 19 markets.
If you are a fan of R. Kelly, and let’s face it, he does have a wide array of fans located all throughout the world, then you are undoubtedly going to want to take this chance to see R. Kelly perform live as he tours all throughout the United States and beyond.
Highlights of this hip-hop performer’s tour includes stints at such locales as the Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, Georgia on November 14, Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on November 15, The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 21, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on November 23, American Airlines Center in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 30 and Sprint Center in Kansas City, MIssouri on December 7 as well as Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 8 and FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee on December 9. OF course these dates are merely a handful of the slew that R. Kelly is embarking upon for this tour of the United States.
You know you aren’t going to want to miss out on the fun that these concerts will be sure to bring to life
“Deja Vu” suffered from being a bit too familiar and a frenetic accompanying video that turned off more than a few fans. “Ring the Alarm,” tricked out with sirens and a video of Beyonce conjuring memories of Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, failed to maintain attention for more than a few listens. However, “Irreplaceable” could change all that.
“Irreplaceable” was co-written by Ne-Yo and produced by StarGate, one of the most potent hitmaking teams of the year. They have collaborated on Ne-Yo’s own “So Sick” and Rihanna’s “Unfaithful,” to name just a pair of successful hits. “Irreplaceable,” with its instantly memorable melody and irresisible “to the left” hook should follow in those songs’ footsteps.
An element that makes “Irreplaceable” resonate deeper after hearing it multiple times is that the subject matter of female strength and independence is at the core of the entire B’Day enterprise. This song will remind many listeners of concepts central to Terry McMillan’s Waiting to Exhale which remains a cultural touchstone 14 years after its release. Look for “Irreplaceable” to help Beyonce regain her pop momentum just in time for her end of the year starring role in the film version of Dreamgirls.
The 17-year-old MC known as Sean Kingston got put on the 21st-century way–through his myspace page. On his impressive self-titled debut full-length, Kingston blends elements of contemporary R&B, dancehall reggae, and radio-friendly pop over 14 tracks, all the while flowing with hungry, upstart energy.
The stand-out track and debut single, “Beautiful Girls,” quickly became the summer jam of 2007, with its infectious beats and clever sampling of Ben E. King’s classic “Stand By Me.” The rest of the album’s thump comes courtesy of West Coast producer J.R., and with a tracklist light on guest stars (Paula DeAnda, Vybz Kartel, and Kardinal Offishal), SEAN KINGSTON heralds the coming of an assured young artist brimming with potential.
When you’ve built up a back catalog of eight studio albums and walk the earth as one of the biggest, most high-profile artists of the ’90s and 2000s, you’re bound to get some mixed signals from those who pay attention to you.
While several tracks connected to specific scenes are also rooted in productions trading in the regal grit that made up so much ’70s soul, the album is not a straight narrative, broken up by tracks like the boom-clap of “Hello Brooklyn” (produced by Bigg D) and the glitzed-out pair of “I Know” (a half-icing Neptunes layer cake) and “Ignorant Shit” (where Just Blaze transforms the Isleys’ quiet storm staple “Between the Sheets” into a high-gloss anthem). And while Jay mentions American Gangster and protagonist Frank Lucas directly, and intersperses some tracks with dialogue, the connection does not overshadow the album. It’s not like he’s yelling “Shaft’s Big Score 2K7!” or “Leonard Part Six, Part Two!” It’s all as natural as Scarface riffing off Scarface.
And that might be the most common complaint about the album — it’s really just another case of Jay-Z being Jay-Z, albeit with different presentation. Unless you know each verse from Reasonable Doubt through Kingdom Come, it might sound like he’s dealing with no variation on well-worn themes, the exact same thoughts and emotions, that make up older tracks about his past as a drug dealer — the rise, the arrogance, the conflictedness, the fall, and all stages in-between. One could say that’s not really saying much, but regardless of context, this is a very good Jay-Z album. He is, for the most part, doing what he has done before: what he does best.
Buff beat master and Justin Timberlake best friend Timbaland performed at PURE Nightclub in Las Vegas over the weekend. The man who’s usually behind the turntables became his own ‘hype man’ by grabbing a mic and bringing the house down and a few panties to go with it.
Partygoers spotted the magnanimous and magnetic music producer getting up close and personal with one girl that he pulled onstage. And when I say personal, I do mean personal. Timbaland was seen chatting it up with the girl throughout the rest of the night and even looked like he was necking her at one point.
Justin Timberlake’s sixth release from solo bow “FutureSex/LoveSounds” has earned props as the first time that six tracks from one release have hit the top 40 since Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” more than 15 years ago. With Beyoncé now stripped onto “Until the End of Time,” it’s quite likely JT will score the tenacious set’s fourth No. 1—which has already catapulted into the top five at R&B.
The meandering song is clearly a tribute to Prince, with its soul-soaked guitar-driven shuffle and funkified production—think “I Would Die 4 U” on Xanax. While Timberlake’s vocals are smoothed out to near anonymity, as usual, he employs recognizable falsetto amid layers of appreciably creamy harmonies.
It’s Beyoncé, however, that really fuels the passion of the track, with her loosest vocal performance since “Listen” from “Dreamgirls”—and Timberlake is wise enough to sprawl her vocal across the song so that it commands the lead. The mantra here: unstoppable.
