Two Days after she tore it up on stage with Jay-Z at the VMA's Alicia Keys releases her debut single, "Doesn't mean anything". The lyrics on this track are interesting especially with all of the rumored speculations about her love life and how my girl is a home wrecker and what not. Leave the woman alone!
Her voice on this track sounds very solemn, which is unlike the singer who usually sings with such conviction. Wonder who this song was written for... Maybe things have gone sore with Swizz and she's trying to reconcile with her ex boo Krucial Keys? Enough, of my attempt to be a gossip columnist. I think this track is nice and I can't wait to hear her new project.
This single will be available on iTunes Tuesday September 22.
If you missed Alicia Keys and Jay Perform "Empire State of Mind" on the VMA's here you go!
Tonight there was no throwing panties, ladies being serenaded on stage, or heavy bumping and grinding for the Maxwell show presented by Samsung AT&T Summer Krush tour at the House of Blues. Instead, there was light bumping and grinding for TV, long lines which snaked down Lansdowne street and impatient fans inside Fenway's House of Blues chanting, "Lets go Maxwell, lets go!" as they waited for the sexy soul singer to hit the stage. Inside the HOB it was packed with hundreds of lucky winners who were granted free access into a private taping of Maxwell performing live for the Jimmy Kimmel Show airing this Friday evening on ABC at 12:05am EST.
A couple of hours before the show Maxwell twittered to Beantown fans, "BOSTON thank you in advance for the ridiculous line you all done started around the block at the House Of Blues....."
The holy ghost was no where to be found as the Pentecostal raised soul singer Maxwell sung his heart out on stage for local Beantown fans and Jimmy Kimmel viewers. The Brooklyn native revealed some intimate information to the crowd about his childhood admitting that he was once a Boston resident for about a year until his home burnt down and forced his family to move back to New York City quick, fast, and in a hurry. Hmm... Wonder what complex housed his Pretty Wings?
Maxwell is definitely a crowd pleaser and teaser singing old skool and new tracks "Bad Habit", "Stop the world", "Pretty Wings", "Fortunate" and of course "Woman's Work". As always this show was strictly for the ladies and their men who like the Red Sox wanted to score a home run with the screaming femme fans in the audience.
Tonight's show was part of the third annual Samsung AT&T Summer Krush concert series, an exclusive music tour featuring well-known musical acts, designed to provide attendees with private concerts and the opportunity to experience the slim-designed Samsung JACK(TM) mobile phone, which was given out to a few lucky concert attendees.
Overall, the show was short and sweet leaving Maxwell tunes lingering in the minds and hearts of pleased fans...
To see what town Maxwell will hit up next just check out his site!
A lot of Twitter peeps and the entire web world have mixed feelings about Jay-Z's new track "Off That" featuring Drake.
"JAY-Z CLEARLY THE BEST RAPPER ALIVE... i wish he would have some better hits like he used to.... :/," says Twitter user ThaeBaeddest.
"Dammit...I was anticipating this album, but between this and "Run This Town"...shitty at best. Most verses are plain nonsense and songs sound as commercial as ever!! Minus D.O.A. anyways(NO ID's production complimented Jay beautifully) What was the point of even having Drake on that track? I was at least hoping he skewed my opinion of him and dropped some substance, rather than the watered down stuff i'd heard before this, " says Allhiphop.com user CaptainBackSlap.
Ouch!
Simmer down Twitter and All Hip Hop peeps, simmer down. I'm actually feeling this track. Music lovers what about evolution? Everything in life has to evolve and that includes music people! I think we are so afraid of change that we can't appreciate growth and unique sounds, objects, and etc because we are so use to watered down artistry. If every track on this album sounded like Blueprint I or II folks would complain about Hov not stepping out of the box. Well, FYI Jay-Z is the box! And like his woman Bey he can do whatever the heck he pleases as long as his same remains Shawn Carter his true fans will still love him. I'm excited about September 11, which symbolizes change for America and Jay's album being dropped on that day symbolizes an attack (in a good way) and bold moves in the hip-hop industry. So, whether or not this track makes the final cut on Blueprint III one thing is for sure... Jay-Z's album is the most anticipated and probably will be one of the hottest albums of 2009.
So, leave your comments and let me know what you think about "Off That" featuring Canada's finest Drizzy.
MJB's protege LaNeah is a woman on the move with a hot, timeless, and classic sound and surprisingly she is from my neck of the woods Massachusetts. Yes, she is a beantown girl at heart rockin the mic to Hov's beats underneath the wing of the queen of hip-hop and r&b. LaNeah is signed to Matriarch / Interscope records which Mary is the HBIC of. LaNeah's musical vibe was absolutely Love @ first sound. Hearing her debut single "Screaming My Name" just made me want to grind harder and I fiend for more of her music and proclaim her as this week's Sunday's Best.
Listen, Watch, & Enjoy!
LaNeah's sound is hot right? Told ya! In addition, her grind and hustle to make it to the top is very inspirational. She is also a heavy writer in the game and her most recent work was Kanye's "Love Lockdown". Keep it locked on MSOA to find out more updates and info on LaNeah because she is indeed a Slept On Artist that you should keep your eye on...
Follow LaNeah on Twitter! Twitter.com/TheRealLaNeah Oh yeah, you can follow me too! Twitter.com/kiawriter
Yesterdays Rock The Bells concert in Mansfield/Boston Massachusetts was packed with screaming fans, loud music, crazy emcees rocking the mic, and the potent smell of ganja filled air. Although, I missed more than half of the show I arrived just in time to hear Big Boi sing, "Kryptonite" from the parking lot as my guest and I speed walked towards Will Call to pick up our tickets.
Once I entered Comcast Center there were mobs of people with hip-hop influenced attire on, socializing and trying to find their way back to their seats before the next performer hit the stage. When I finally reached my assigned seat I was greeted by a few Rock The Bells goers sucking on cancer sticks, which were disgustingly unbearable to inhale, so my friend and I debated with the ushers and upgraded our seats 12 rows forward.
After a quick intermission and a clearer view of the stage Queensbridge's own Nas hit the stage performing the classic tune "The world is yours" which had true hip-hop fans going crazy. As my friend and I raised our fist in the air screaming to "My president is black" we peeped our surroundings we realized that we were the only folks jamming to that tune until "Made you look" and "Got ur self a gun" came on and then to our surprise hundreds of fans decided that they wanted to raise their guns in the air to some of Nas's most ignorant tracks. Nas's performance was the opening act of the Distant Relatives portion of the show, which was the last segment of Rock The Bells. When Damian Marley and Nas graced the stage together singing their famous track "Road to Zion" and new music from their upcoming EP Distant Relatives it was pure magic. I had no flipping idea that Nas and Damian Marley were recording an album together focusing on Africa and its influence on modern day society and its connection to its people. From the sounds of tracks such as "Africa Must Wake Up" Distant relatives is going to be one of the sickest collaborations that has reached our ears in years.
I know i'm a tidbit late, but this is the first time I've seen this video. Love Wale! The first time I ever heard or seen this DC native's face/music was in 2006 "Dig Dug (Shake It)". I checked him out and I really didn't know what to think.
Although, I believed he was a skilled emcee, I doubted the industry would take a rapper from DC seriously, but boy was I wrong. So, happy to see a Go-Go music lover get some shine.
Check out Wale's latest video "Chillin"!. If you've never been to DC trust me, its definitely a place you would love to visit. I attended Howard University, so I definitely appreciated shots of Ben's Chilli Bowl, Georgia Ave, and Cardoza High School which helped capture the true essence of DC. Ben's Chilli Bowl is the spot to get the best chilli dog and chilli cheese fries after you get your dance on at club Love. Mmm... I can taste that chilli now.
Oh yeah, the infamous Lady Gaga is featured in this video too, not much to say about that one, but she's getting paid branching outside of pop music. I ain't mad Lady Gaga, I ain't mad at ya!
To step my blog game up a notch i'm going to introduce a brand new segment Sunday's Best, which will debut the hottest songs, videos, and photos of Timeless and Talented artists on Sunday. You like? Of course, I knew you would! Well, the premier artist is none other than the Queen Bey with her latest video "Sweet Dreams", which is one of my fav songs on her album.
What do I think? Unstoppable, Phenomenal Performer, & This Chica Can Do Whateva She Wants Cuz she's Bey! So, does it matter what I think? Nope!
Not Sunday's Best Now, I absolutely love Drake and respect this brotha's hustle from playing a handicapped dude on Degrassi to an emcee that folks actually pay attention to his lyrical content, but his premiere video "Best I Ever Had" was extremely wack! Who produced this video? It had no visual concept of the actual song and the big breasted chicks were tacky. I don't know Drakey Poo you have to do better second time around and the BET performance didn't help you either... Poor thing.
When I think of Ju-Taun the song that plays on heavy rotation in my mind is Drake's "Successful" because these four gentlemen epitomize the true hustle and journey to success. Its been a few years since their debut album release How Bad U Want It and now they are taking another step out on faith with their independent album Love Changes Things, which fans locally and nationally have been anticipating.
Ju-Taun definitely brings back that true r&b flavor to the industry. Pete, Jake, Samoeun, and Jamie's voices are smooth as satin and their musical style is reminiscent of Shai, Blacksteet, and Boyz II Men.
Talk about a group that has paid their dues, built a strong foundation as friends, and experienced a taste of the good life as they starred on last years hit show MTV's Top Pop Group. Ju-Taun has been grinding for ten years and Love Changes Things is beyond overdue, but somehow they're just in time to give the industry what its been missing... Its been over a year since the last time i've spoke to these fellas and it is amazing how they have evolved as artists and its evident in their latest single "Get @ Me", which has a magnetic affect that will draw ladies to the dance floor.
So, fans old and new its time to exhale because June 30th is here and you no longer have to wait to hear the sweet sounds of Ju-Taun... If you thought you were knowledgeable about Ju-Taun's journey to success then you need to think again because there is so much more to the four humble, handsome, and talented New Jersey natives.
Check out Part 1 of the exclusive interview with Ju-Taun!
In your own words who is Ju-Tuan? Jamie:in my own words Ju-Taun is a group that is a real group. We're friends, we were just hanging out together and we decided to sing together, which is how groups normally started back in the day. It wasn't something that was manufactured, it wasn't something that was put together by producers who were looking for a certain type of sound or looking for a certain type of thing, it evolved on its own. Its just something that has been a real natural progression, a real natural process, something that wasn't in our hands, so I think that Ju-Taun is a real vocal group. Its not like four solo singers that are now singing together and will be broken up tomorrow, this is a group of guys that are making music together and its not just your normal typical group of singers, we also write and produce our music together.
So, no Making The Band Here. Jamie: No disrespect to Making The Band, but we didn't make the band, we are the band!
Thats right! So, when I interviewed you guys last year we were talking about your journey as emerging artists and performing at local colleges and pushing your album on the streets of Philly and Times Square. Describe your journey thus far from then to now. Pete:Since, the last time we spoke with you the biggest thing that happened to us was being on MTV's Top Pop Group and we met so many people and we were exposed to a whole world that we knew existed, but we never knew how it worked. And, it just made us see how many people we could touch. Millions of people saw us on TV and til this day we still get responses today all over the net when we're talking to all of our fans about how that affected them and how all the people that we met on the show we affected them also. The name of our album Love Changes Things is like when we meet people we want to make sure that when they meet us that we affect the way they live their life. Just working on our album has been a long journey and it feels like its all coming together and its all suppose to be like this, it wasn't something that was fabricated, its all destiny.
Okay, that goes into my next question. How was your experience on MTV's Top Pop Group? Samoeun:Actually, the show was like a vacation. We were so used to being in the grind and working 24/7. We were working in California, the weather was nice, we got paid to do what we loved, and worked with the top choreographers, and the top vocal coaches in the country. It was just awesome! We met beautiful people that we are still friends with today. It was a total blessing!
How has your fan base grown since the show? Jake:After we got back from the show and about a month later we did a concert in Mississippi in the middle of nowhere and they wanted us to go to the schools to get the kids hyped about the show. We were like why would we do that because nobody really knows who we are, but we went to like five different schools and when we got there people went crazy and when we got on stage and we asked how many of ya'll know us and the kids went crazy. So, we realized people actually watched us when we were in LA in our little bubble and you didn't realize how many millions of people are watching the show all over the world.
Is it crazy going to the mall today? Jamie: Yea, Its crazy cuz when we were around in our own area before people always recognized us because we were always out selling cds in the mall, putting posters up everywhere, and people were like, "Oh, you guys are the group thats always selling ya cds!" But now its like, "Oh, wassup we saw you on TV!" Its a totally different vibe, so we still get the same core people that remember us selling our cds, but now they know us as being on TV as a group.
Now, you worked with a lot of different artists on MTV's Top Pop Group, what did you take from that experience? Jamie:I think one of the biggest things that we took away from that experience is that it was another challenge that we conquered. We were saying that it was a lot of pop music and choreography that we were not normally doing, but we knew that we were capable of. Even the choreographers were amazed at how well we picked it up and how good we did with the choreography. They were expecting us to come in and only be able to do a couple of things, but if the show would have lasted longer I think we would have been able to go a lot further with the choreography. Being on the show we really saw a lot more of what we were capable of doing.
How did you guys feel about not winning? Pete:We couldn't have lost to anyone better. When we first started the show everyone was good. We love everybody and Mosaic was the group that won and we felt like they were our mentors. So, for us to lose to them its a compliment to be so close and be right behind them and it was only by a couple votes and we love those guys either way.
Well, for the record I was little upset at you guys lost because my friends and I were voting for you guys all the time. Ju-Taun:Aww... Thanks!
Love Changes Things is being released digitally and I know you guys have been pushing your album hard on the web. How has the internet played a role in your career and help put Ju-Taun out there?
Jake: [laughter] Its meant everything for us man! The web has changed the game for independent artists and has put us on a platform to the world. The only thing is a lot of artists don't want to take advantage of it and we're just hungry, so we've been trying to go as hard as we could to get our name out there. Its just amazing how many fans we have, but we're doing a video together now of our fans all over the world just saying the statement, "I believe love changes things!" to go along with our album and we're getting people from everywhere like Ukraine.
Jamie:So, it just shows you how you can just touch people from all over.
How long have you guys been pursuing a career in music? Jamie:Well, we've been singing together for ten years, but we actually put our first product together six years ago. Its so funny because we were just talking about the first time we ever sold our cds is when we went to this event out in Philly and we didn't have our cds yet, but we knew they were coming so we went out there selling cds to people without the cds and promising them that we were going to mail them to them when we get them. We actually sold a bunch of cds and that date was June 30, which is so crazy because our new album is coming out June 30th. We just recapped and realized that it is actually a complete 6 year cycle.
Hmm... Thats a good sign guys! Its just amazing to me how you guys just stayed so tight throughout the years and maintained that same grind. How do guys stay so focused and together? Jake: Its called a higher power! We had a vision for the group and its bigger than each individual and thats something that we keep close to us and that vision is what keeps us going. So, when we're writing these songs, listening to them, mixing them, and mastering them, and we hear them all the time and each song represents where we need to be. We're not even there yet, its just where we need to be. Its kind of like a prophetic thing, so we have to think like, if we don't make it these songs don't mean nothing to us. So, its kind of like we have to keep going not just for us, but for other people because its bigger than us.
Jamie:Plus, its like this whole thing for us from the beginning- you know people always say, "you guys are living your dreams," but I think thats where a lot of people get it wrong because for us its not a dream, to us its a reality, its what we do everyday. We quit our jobs for this, so there is nothing else, when there is nothing else you have to work it, or else you have nothing else. Its just complete faith that we have to have in what we're doing and as you can see if you know the group we have lost a member along the way.
Describe the vibe of the album and what will your listeners receive when listening to Love Changes Things? Pete: I just received a message yesterday and it said, "I really love the way that you guys give us what love is from a man's point of view". And, it really sums it all up for me and its not just romance love, its love from all angles and how a man should live his life and should look at love and how he wants to give love to others, the way he wants to change others with the love that he gives for other people, and thats why the name of the album is Love Changes Things. So, thats really the whole focus of the album and there's different genres pop, R&B, hip-hop, and whatever you want to call it, but for us its good music because it comes from the heart, and it all has the same message that love can change things.
Jake:At the same time this is something that was inspired by our journey. Like, everywhere we've been, we've realized that even if somebody does us wrong we've realized that if we just continue to show them love in a loving way and say okay we have to work this out because its bigger than them, we always went further. We've been through some horrible situations that nobody would want to go through, but we always try to keep a positive outlook and [figure out] what [we] could we get out of this-there's something there, we didn't know what it was, but there was always something there and you have to keep that and stay in that love perspective. Every time something always good came out of that situation.
Well, describe a situation where there was a road block. Jamie: When we were on MTV we made up in our minds that we were not going to be into the whole this is a competition, so we need to be rude to everybody, or act like we have egos because thats what you do to stay on the show, or just feed into the drama that you can get into when you do these types of shows. In doing that, the cast of the show became so close, it was truly a huge family-all of the groups and even some of the staff and camera people.
What do you think stands out about Ju-Taun that makes other groups look up to you? Samoeun: We've been together forever like we were friends before we even became a group and we just had this bond. I think thats what some groups lack is a bond where you don't care about yourself, you care about other people in your corner.
Jake: To just add to that, like I said before we have a vision and its not about me Jake personally, its not about Samouen, its not about Jamie, its not about Pete. Like, whenever we get into an argument we know to refocus because its not about us and that dismisses all things. When your in a group you have to look pass yourself.
Samoeun:Yeah, and another thing you have to go into it knowing that-if you don't want to be in a group its not gonna work. You have to really want to be a group and think I want to make music with these guys, so if there's ever a issue its something we've worked out, and us being together for ten years we've had time to really get to know each other and work out a lot of issues. I mean, there's things about myself that i've change just by being in this group and being around people that are constantly a mirror for me and tell me like, yo thats messed up what you did right there. And, because we love each other we can do that, we can call each other out and not take it personal.
Do you guys feel like you've been preparing this album your whole lives?
Pete:It really does feel like all of our experiences, all of our hurdles, it all came down to this, and it just feels like this is suppose to happen the way we're releasing this album, the way we're touching so many people and we're still independent. It just feels like its suppose to be this way, we've worked hard for so long, and of course you know the story about us hustling in the streets, and that just really humbled us, and we've met so many people along the way and we've treated them with respect and we've learned from other artists that we've ever opened for. So, just having that love and respect for other people it just opened so many doors for us and it just lead us to the point we're at now.
How are you feeling its almost June 30th? Jake: We're ready! Just working, we're working 16 hour days, and it really has become a Love Changes Things movement. A lot of our fans have been really, really supportive and promoting us. We just feel even before the album comes out so honored and loved by our fans just by the way their supporting us and promoting the album. We definitely understand that its the people that keep you alive.
What interest me about you guys is the connection you have with your fans and how you never seem out of touch from your fans. I mean they can reach you on Myspace, Twitter, and Facebook and your really good about responding.
Music will forever have a void because of the passing of the world icon Michael Jackson. Words cannot explain how his music, presence, and gift of song and dance has impacted all nations. All respect and prayers go out to Michael Jackson's family and everyone impacted by his death. No words can express how we all will miss him! R.I.P. Michael Jackson!
So many artists came out of the woodworks including BBD, New Edition, Tevin Campbell, GUY, Johnny Gill, and Keith Sweat. I was so happy to see my ex boo Trey Songz share the stage with someone else rather than his ego.
The renactment of Baby Boy was very entertaining and it was very nice to see Tyrese and Taraji P. Henson together because that movie launched their careers.
Beyonce is the queen B, so she can clearly do whatever she feels because her performance was lukewarm. Her man Hov killed his new track DOA and the video premiered tonight after the awards. Loved it!
Young Money? Hmm... Drakes performance was good, but when Weezy and the rest of Young Money got on stage it was downhill from there. I mean, do you really have to bring children on the stage when your rapping about hoes and how many girls you want to sleep with around the world? That behavior will earn the entire squad a call to the Department of Social Service, don't you think?
Maxwell killed it with his "Pretty Wings" performance. Although I thought a pillow fight broke out during his performance. His voice was absolutely flawless.
Monica & Keyshia did their thang too performing "Trust".
Keri Hilson also did her thang and I was feeling the Michael Jackson getup with the socks and dance at the end.
Wyclef & Alicia Keys deserved their long overdue humanitarian awards for their community efforts. Love them! I loved when Wyclef said, "I went from a hut, to the projects to a mansion." Enough said.
For the amount of time BET had to honor MJ and actually convincing Janet to show up they earned a B.
Although, I believe the network needs to step it up in the content and quality of the shows aired, when the going gets tough BET is always the first to honor their own.
This track is so Blueprint!!! Call me bias if you want, but Hova can do no wrong in my ears. He is the only man who can make a track speaking against Ye the king of autotune and still have him featured on his track. Jay explained his reasoning behind the song to Hot 97, "The guys who did it, did it great. T-Pain, he does great melodies. If you listen to Kanye, great melodies. Everybody can’t do it. Let them guys do it. They got their little niche, let’s move on.” Jay-Z’s hope is to “draw [a] line in the sand” so that rappers can begin “moving [the conversation] forward.”
A lot of young rappers including Jim Jones had a mouthful to say about this track. But Jay is simply saying auto-tuning is not for everyone. So, of course every emcee whose vocals lean on the shoulder's of autotune will have a problem with what he's saying, but someone had to address the state of hip-hop and who can do it better than Jay?. So, in the words of my girl Lauren Conrad, "It is, what it is". DOA saved me because I was starting to drown in my swag and take heed to Soulja Boy's music... No sah, I can respect the dude, but there is nothing and no one in hip-hop greater than Hov.
Check out the videos below!
Jay-Z Performs DOA at Hot 97's summer jam concert.
MTV Interview
What do I think of the song? Loving DOA! Blueprint 3 will be released exactly 8 years from the release of his first Blueprint album, September 11, 2009!
I absolutely Love, Love, Love authentic and fresh musical artists like Melanie Fiona. She is a 24-year old, Toronto-Guyanese woman who was discovered by Steve Rifkind who is a big deal at Universal/Motown Records where she is signed now. Melanie has opened up for Kanye to da West and is managed by Jay-Z's ROC Nation. If you wanna know why just check out the videos below!
Now, that our prez is black some folks are just keeping it real in the news room. Everyone knows Obama got swagg, but did we have to say it on CNN too?! Guess so. Lol. This is a trip!
Mmm... Can you taste that? Yes, finally an R&B song by a brotha that we're familiar with Mr. Maxwell whom true music lovers missed deeply. I can't say much, but watch, listen and enjoy!
Maxwell's Johnny come lately fourth studio album, "BLACKsummer'snight," is expected to drop July 7th released on Columbia Records. Can't wait! I saw him in concert in Boston a few months ago and he sung all of his oldies, but goodies and I thought oh how I miss him... Now he's back!
Ne-Yo is no longer a guilty listening pleasure of mine because he is a lyrical genius, which I can respect as a writer. I absolutely love this song "Part of list" if you do not have the album Year of the gentlemen shame on you!
Most people probably have not realized that they have been grooving to the sounds of 88 Keys, but believe it or not its true. Producer, emcee, and Long Island native has produced tracks for my hubby Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Macy Gray, Musiq Soulchild and Consequence. He's homies with Ye and is a fan of Ralph Lauren (its reported that dude owns over 700 purple label polos) and I wouldn't put it pass him. He released his debut album Death of Adam in 2008, which received rave reviews from Billboard magazine. Although, its several months after the release of his debut album he is still relevant because he just shot the video for my Jizammmm "The Friends Zone", which I bet a lot of you fellas out there can relate to. Here's a lil sneak peak of the making of the video provided by VIMBY. Enjoy!
J*Davey J*Davey is a peculiar, but talented group that produces an unfamiliar sound that will keep you coming back for more. The group is a duo concocted of Jack Davey and Brook D'Leau. Can you guess who's who? Well, they're not who you would assume because the female's name is Jack and the male name is... Yes, you got it right Brook, which I find so odd and hilarious, but whatever works. J*Davey sort of sounds like Martina Tobley Bird who I will write about soon because she is a great artist with a unique sound that was featured on the last track of Common's latest album Universal Mind, "Everywhere" track. Back to J*Davey... Yes, this duo was sort of an accident waiting to happen because they were linked up by mutual friends and then their friendship blossomed into this psychedelic soul group that we now know as J*Davey. Check out the goodies below featuring J*Davey's latest video "Slooow" and "Dirty Peaches" an 88 Keys tracks featuring J*Davey. I guess great artists attract like magnets.
