September 2005 Archives

Waddup y'all it's Friday and so I wanted to go back and gather up some of the new music tracks we've been talking about. Maybe y'all will get a chance to go over them this weekend and have some new shizzle to jam to. Don't forget to cruise through the archives for some hot tunes. Also stop over at Honey Soul or my boy EJ's site. They both have tons of shit to listen to.

"Trippin'" - Toni Braxton
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"I Should Have Cheated" - Keyshia Cole
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"SupaStar" - Floetry
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"One Wish" - Ray J
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"Take It Easy" - Fugees
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Holla,
SOHH SoulMan

The Usher Man is doing a good thing by performing at a concert event that will help benefit the victims of both hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Project Restart benefit concert will be held on October 9 in Atlanta, GA. I am sure the Usher Man cares about the peeps in the south, being an ATLien but is this just good press for his mission to become a music mogul/executive?

He will perform several songs at the concert and will bring some of his celebrity friends to make special guest appearances. I wonder if he got the nerve to ask Beyonce to perform "Bad Girl" with him.

Supposedly he is gonna get with a bunch of companies to relocate 1,000 families as well as make personal visits over a 1yr period. DAMN! Now thats wassup.... I mean we gave him a few million albums sold and he is giving a free concert... sounds like an even exchange don't ya think?

YEAH!

Mariah Carey is on top of the fuggin' world right now. Aside from gushing testimonials on Oprah from Andre Leon Talley... she's got this new song out called "Don't Forget About Us!". Of course it is produced by Jermaine Dupri. The two of them are on fire together. It sounds like a different version of "We Belong Together".

She is also riding high on the remix of "Shake It Off" featuring Jay-Z and Young Jeezy.

Check out the AOL First Listen!

Toni Braxton's new joint Libra hits the shelves today. She is like 37 now and she looks good and her voice is at its career best. At first I thought this new cd was just ok. Toni's at the top of her game so her work is always good. But I didn't think this new cd was as hot as Secrets, The Heat or even the overlooked More Than A Woman, which is good too. But last night I went to a party and they played the whole album. You know how music just feels differently when you got it cranked up. It all changed my mind.

Also out this week is Lil Kim and Sean Paul. I think Three 6 Mafia got a new joint out today. But since its all about the soul music up in here I also wanted to remind peeps about Keyshia Coles being on tour. She's on two tours to be exact. The Kanye West "Touch The Sky" tour and the Musiq Soulchild Tour. And you can see her mug plastered all across the cover of the new Vibe Vixen.

Y'all like the single "I Should Have Cheated"? She be over acting in that video but I kinda like her version of grimey.

listen to the single:
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download tour dates

It's Monday and time to come up for air from all the 'things' we've been doing and play catch up. A lot's been going on y'all. That sweaty, puffy, coke whore D'angelo was involved in an accident where he flipped over his outdated 2003 Hummer. No one hit him, he didn't hit anyone... it was supposedly a single car crash. Hmmmmm.....

This incident comes just one week after he stood trial for cocaine possesion and received a 3year suspended sentence. This accident is not yet said to be linked to any specific wrong doings by D'angelo, but come on... y'all know he was probably coked out and on his way to his connect's house in one ole 'powder' induced rage. (yea there might be a little haterade mixed in for good measure, what's a SOHH blog without some haterade.... "How Does It Feel?")

In other happenings, the Destiny's Child #1s cd is scheduled for an October 25th release. "Stand Up For Love" the first track is all over the radio as it is. The cd contains all them chicas hits plus three new songs. And ya know no DC3 album would be complete without something slanted in Beyonce's favor. Ol girl got a solo track on the cd called "Check On It" which also should be on the Pink Panther soundtrack. Bey's second solo cd is being pushed back to next September due to the filming of Dreamgirls.

Also...anybody got that new Fugees track thats been leaked.... email it to me please!

As promised, I am posting an interview Kevin L. Clark did with Sharissa. Enjoy!

SOHH: The first single is “In Love With A Thug,” featuring R. Kelly. Let me ask you straight up â€" are you currently involved with anyone?

Sharissa: No, I’m not!

SOHH: Why?

Sharissa: Because I just quit his lying, deceiving, triflin’ ass. I can stand a lyin’ ass person!

SOHH: So, what is it about a “thug” that does it for you â€" a prison record, scars, some bullet wounds?

Sharissa: [Laughs] I just really love and appreciate the realness of thugs. I just love their aura. I was in love with a thug. He just got handed his walking papers because I just lost respect for him because he was lying. I love how manly they are â€" a man’s man. You can’t even say that about men nowadays. A “man’s man” could mean different things to different people. I just love a thug’s strength. Makes him a really good man.

SOHH: When you were 13 your boyfriend was killed. How do you think that shaped your perception of love?

Sharissa: It showed me that you could put yourself in certain positions. I was young and I knew he was bad. Hell, his own momma knew he was bad. I just think that sometimes you put yourself in those positions. I mean he didn’t want the police to kill him. But that’s how it goes sometimes â€" you live by the sword, then you die by the sword.

Did anybody catch Jaheim on 106 & Park yesterday? He showed up to promote his new single which I can't even remember the name of, but it features Jadakiss. My bad. Jaheim got that Teddy Pendergrass old school flow that comes through on all his tracks. Thats a good thing. With so many of the young kats releasing music its good to still hear quality voices that play naturally on the r&b/soul giants of the past.

The only thing about Jaheim that some people have criticized is his material. Sometimes the songs arent the best for his strong voice. Yesterday he classified his new album as a ghetto classic. Says the subject matter is familiar. He is said to also work with Styles P and few others.

Sharissa is another one of the younger ones out the game for a second round that's got one of those instantly recognizable voices. It automatically reminds me of the classic female r&b giants. FULL OF SOUL.

She recently did an interview with SOHH that Imma post tomorrow and have up all weekend. But in the meantime watch the video.

"In Love With A Thug"- Sharissa
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I am almost ashamed to admit that I sat through last night's season finale of "R U The Girl". T-Boz and Chili, just kinda lost all the respect I had for them on this journey to 'replace' Left Eye, the obvious creative driving force behind TLC. Aside from being poorly directed, this show proves that these two lost interest half way through this project. They also lost their minds from selecting O So Krispie.... a decision that was OH SO RETARDED!

Here you have two 30 something washed up pop stars who can't perform a medley of their hits without being winded to the point of exhaustion trying to add an energetic 20 something year old to their now stale reportoire. Not only is Krispie just not a match, she is also just not mature enough to move forward with a group that has so much history together.

Mirrah was the best choice. I think she was slighted because she looked so much like Left Eye and she wasn't from Atlanta like Krispie is. I wouldn't be surprised if Krispie is one of their relatives or if they snatched up Mirrah aka snaggle puss for a solo deal.

Either way so long TLC.... and for the record Destiny's Child is the biggest selling female group of all time. SO STOP RUNNING THAT OUTDATED FACT.

Meanwhile.... I've been blasting TLC's Fanmail. Them girls was bad!

This week, new releases in R&B include Ray J, Latoya London as well as So Amazing: All Star Luther Vandross Tribute . They all hit the shelves to much anticipation.

I was never an American Idol fan so I missed the whole Latoya London craze. I think once Simon told her she was boring, we all kinda got on the Fantasia train. Ray Charles supposedly has another box set out. And suprisingly Jamiroquai and Kindred have quietly released new music as well.

There's something about a tall chocolate broad getting her eagle on the front of her album cover that makes you say, "this should be good." Case and point with Syleena Johnson.

Teairra Mari, is the 16 year old, 17 or 18 by now, with no daddy around that landed on Roc A Fella records. Her debut album Roc A Fella Reocrds Presents Teairra Mari came and went like a thief in the night. But since we respect the Jigga man's opinion, SOHH decided to see just how Soulful lil mama really is.

SOHH.com: How did the whole 106 thing come about?
TM: When I was on 106 & Park just you know performing and interviewing. When I got back. They asked me to come back and host. I guess, you know, they liked my personality so they asked me to come back.

SOHH.com: How has the experience been so far, you like it?
TM: Yeah, it’s very fun.

SOHH.com: How did the [record] deal come about?
TM: I started with a local production in Detroit and they put together a demo.

SOHH.com: What’s the name of the production company?
TM: Kiss Productions.

SOHH.com: Truth?
TM: Kiss, like kiss, (smack, smack, makes kissing noise twice)
We put together a demo, shopped it around and L.A. Reid got it. he signed me and then I was signed to Def Jam for like a year. He wanted me to meet Jay. And when I met Jay he was like, “I want her to be on Roc-A-Fella.” So you know, I moved over to Roc-A-Fella.

SOHH.com: What’s your relationship like with the guys at the Roc?

If you have some down time this weekend, check out Alicia Key's unplugged joint. I know it's airing on MTV2 but I'm not sure if MTV itself is running it. However you can watch the full show online here.

Remember the MTV uptown unplugged when Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Father MC and a couple others performed. My favorite one is Mariah's but Maxwell's unplugged was off the chain too.

Speaking of Maxwell... y'all see his new haircut?

So Bow Wow gonna try to put his acting chops to work, as if we needed to see his skinny ass on the big screen again. He is featured in the flick Roll Bounce. I ain't gonna spoil the plot but the soundtrack got a few heavy hitters on it. Or should I say, the heavy hitters are recycling a few songs and calling it a soundtrack.

Beyonce recycles "Wishing on a Star", Michelle Williams recycles "Let's Stay Together" (it appears on the Gap soundtrack). But the cd ain't a total sleeper, 'cause you have Chic's "Le Freak", Kool and the Gang gettin' it on with Jamiroquai, there is even a little Ray J featuring R.Kelly.

Brooke Valentines tries to get big and ressurects Yoyo and adds in remix king Fabolous for "Boogie Oogie Oogie".

Listen to it here!


The track listings are as follows:

The bigs of r&b, soul, hip hop soul showed out on last night's airing of the World Music Awards. There were several big moments, the one up for debate today is the Destiny's Child tribute and celebration of their being certified as the biggest selling female group of all time.

The musical tribute had three segments. Teairra Mari (Beyonce), Rihanna (Kelly) and Amerie (Michelle) performed a horribly constructed version of "Lose My Breath". Thankfully they all sang live, as Jay-Z looked on lovingly as his young divas in training mimicked big mama Bey(once) and the girls.

Afterwards, Patti Labelle screeched out a version of some song from her latest album that everyone was like WHAT SONG WAS THAT? Of course Bey and them looked on lovingly and dropped tears here and there. Then Usher and Babyface come out and did what seemed like some unscripted version of "Cater 2 U". In the beginning Babyface was not to be out done by Usher, but the inner showgirl in Usher turned into an impromptu strip tease with both he and Babyface tiptoe-ing around Beyonce savings the more salacious moments for Kelly and Michelle, knowing that big daddy Jay-Z was looking on from the front row.

Afterwards, I thought WHAT THE HELL IS BABYFACE doing up there... but when he flipped the lyrics to "Cater 2 U" and began singing his own famous lyrics, "I'll pay your rent, I'll buy your clothes, I'll cook your dinner too...." it all became obvious.

New music hitting the shelves today include Damian Marley, Pussy Cat Dolls, Paul Wall, Charlie Wilson and Tracey Chapman. I am not sure what the Pussy Cat Dolls have to offer. Besides the little bit of urban cred Busta gave them, all anyone wants is for them to shake an ass cheek or tell us if that lead 'singer' really is singing and this ain't a case of Milli Vanilli.

Old school playa Charlie Wilson got a little something out with R. Kelly. Paul Wall aint bad on the ear... But the most impactful this week is Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley welcoming us to jamrock.

If you really wanna hear something worth sharing, check out the 'Shake It Off Remix' from Mariah ft Jay-Z and Young Jeezy. Jay spits a whole verse.... not a bunch of grunts and uh huhs to the beat. (right click and save as if ya want a copy of it for yaself)

If the link get's disabled, email me.

Is Jamie Foxx's claim to musical fame his ability to sound like other people? He sounds just like too much like John Legend on his new track "Extravaganza" featuring Kanye West. Have a listen !

After En Vogue hooked up again for the latest Stevie Wonder album, Black Voices is reporting that they will also perform for the VH1 Hip Hop Honors special. Supposedly they will be performing with Salt n Pepa which leads me to believe they'll sing "Whatta Man". Ya'll remember that?

I guess now that destiny is fulfilled and En Vogue is tired of being in the poor house they wanna give it one more chance. En Vogue is the group Destiny's Child wanted to be back in the day. And they can sing. Shit just kinda fell apart when Dawn was tired of collecting pennies on all the dollars they made. She felt like she put in too much work and was gonna be damned if she was to be ripped off.

After "What Is Gonna Be" for the Set It Off soundtrack the EV3 album, she was out and hooked up with Raphael Saadiq for Lucy Pearl (three rejects from previous groups).

Dawn vowed to never perform with En Vogue again. Well she ate them words when the checks stopped rolling in and is said to be going back into the studio with Maxine, Terry and Cindy.

Aiight sohh, Mariah Carey- the girl who supposedly had the comeback of all comebacks with The Emancipation of Mimi is really doing the damn thing. Yea, yea we all know 150 million albums and singles sold world wide blah blah blah, a full album of number ones, records broken and created since her days as the first lady of SONY but it is something to be said when your album has spent 21 weeks on the Billboard charts and has yet to dip lower that the #5 position.

To date, Carey has moved 3,189,635 units of Mimi according to SoundScan. Her new single "Shake It Off" seems to be replacing the long standing # 1 hit "We Belong Together" as the single of choice on MTV, VH1, Billboard Hot 100 Airplay etc.

With the first three releases being mega hits off the cd, the only person who would be more excited than Carey herself would be the worlds most under rated producer JERMAINE DUPRI! Dupri produced the first three hits. However there is still more noise to be made as the peeps over at Island Def Jam prepare to release the Kanye produced "Stay The Night".

When asked about all the hoopla over The Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah takes a que from LL Cool J and responds, "Don't call it a comeback, I've been here for years."

Don't get too cocky chick.... we all remember "Glitter".

It's been a long weekend and believe it or not it's Tuesday which means its all about new music. However aside from a creep in by Jeffery Osbourne, I don't think there were any other new releases in soul and r&b. Although in hip hop David Banner and 50cent have a little something to brag about with new things for us to spend our money on or pirate from Limewire. And speaking of which, David Banner made a lot of noise last Tuesday at Eugene here in New York, bringing some of his country flavor to the streets of New York. Opening for him was young r&b chanteuse Yummy.

Remember last week we got psych'd over Rihanna who will probably sell around 80-90K this week. Tony Yayo is expected to debut at #2 right behind Mr. Intentional, Kanye -Bushwackin-West who's recent stunt this past Friday might push his sales beyond the already anticipated 900,000 in the first week of release.

Otherwise check these new singles that are hitting a radio station, internet site or ipod near you:
Na'Sha featuring Shaggy - Fire
Floetry featuring Common - SupaStar
Toni Braxton - Take This Ring
Ray J - One Wish
Tony Hussel - "Special

I picked up the October 2005 issue of Vibe magazine which has a special edition cover honoring R&B legend Luther Vandross. Vandross who died on July 1, 2005 is remembered with a stirring testimony of his extensive career put together by Craig Seymour. Also included are memories, tributes, and musical samples shared by musicians and entertainers ranging from Cheryl Lynn to Olivia, from Keyshia Cole to Nile Rodgers.

One of best parts of the cover story is a discography/time line that lays out Luther's extensive career. From his first solo album in 1981, Never Too Much, to his Live At Radio Music Hall cd in 2003. In between were 13 other gems as well as the The Glow of Love from 1980 with the group Change.

Since Luther's passing, fans and friends have championed his his excellence, while others claim that Luther abandoned black music in search of maninstream pop fame. I say fuck em. If you've ever been to a Luther concert or played one of his cds it was clear at every turn, Luther is black music.

As you may recall there is an all star tribute cd hitting the street.