August 2006 Archives

Mariah Carey is incredible.

Y'all know what this is... SOHH SOHH Soulful!

I'm going to make this quick. I am headed to Atlantic City to see Mariah Carey perform this evening. And if ya don't know... please know that I love all things Mariah; the voice, the hits and the tour. Trust me, there will be more on that later. SOHH while you are trying to figure out if that Lil Kim track embedded in this entry is new or just leftovers from the Naked Truth, we were busy compiling our...

The last we heard from Bobby Valentino was this past December. He had just laid it down with "Table Dance" for the Disturbing Tha Peace compilation CD. He warned me that the next time he reared his head it would be a special occassion. As promised, that Special Occassion turns out to be his sophomore CD which is leading the efforts to put DTP Soul on the map.

I chewed the fat with Bobby V. a few days ago and below is a video of what he had to say about his new album, his DTP Soul compadre Shareefa and why he feels that he can't be held to the typical Atlanta sound.

After we leaked John Legend's latest diddy, "Save Room," I spoke with someone rather close to the upcoming project. She felt as though the people that read and comment here were less focused on the music and more focused on John's and most male singers image and sexuality -- something she felt mattered the least.

I remember that some of women definitely clowned John and some of his G.O.O.D. Music compadres based on their sexuality which would ultimately lead to some of the homeboyz falling back on his music. I know most people feel that R&B is more for the ladies, but the fellas purchase and or listen to R&B too... right? And if so, what kind of R&B? Who are some of the male R&B artists that fellas would feel comfortable playing when their girl stops by the crib? And to the ladies, who are some of the artists that you don't mind hearing at your man's crib that wouldn't make you raise an eyebrow?

Everyone seems to be in an uproar over the Hot 97 morning show featuring Miss Jones when Christina Milian called in to promote her new movie Pulse and was hung up on. Yes, Christina Milian was hung up on during her telephone interview. Apparently, Miss Jones wanted Christina to answer questions about her highly-publicized departure from Island Def Jam while Ms. Milian was more interested in moving on and promoting her new movie. Listen to the interview here.

*this is not an album review*

Last night I braved that monsoon that came through New York City and made my way down to Jive for the Kelis album listening session. Just minutes before heading to the train I caught a commercial on BET that touted Kelis' second single would be "Blindfold Me" featuring Nas. After thinking about Nas' influence on the "Milkshake" video, I thought.... this album might go gold.... maybe.

If Diddy's new single, "Come to Me" featuring Nicole from the Pussy Cat Dolls didn't bounce the way it does I'd already be sickened by the thought of the upcoming force feeding we are about to experience. As nOva warned, Diddy is about take revenge and actually might be the one to make the biggest splash bringing back New York to the forefront of music... this time with Press Play,an R&B album.

I've barked and bitched about the quality of music that is being released by some of R&B's most trusted hitmakers, however one thing that I am quite happy to see is the repurposing of trends from the 1980's. Yea, yea history repeats itself, but there are a few people who are doing it and doing it well.

If I am not mistaken, the only buzzworthy R&B album to hit the shelves today is that of Bad Boy's critically acclaimed, 5 octave, powerhouse vocalist Cassie.

Have you ever seen something developing and you get that sick feeling that what you see developing is simply a disaster waiting to happen? I am going to go out on a limb here and say that is exactly what I think is happening with respect to Jay- Z urging songwriter Sean Garrett to become a recording artist.

(no thanks)

It wasn't so long ago the young up and coming females in R&B really only totaled four. It was Brandy, Monica, Aaliyah and Mya. I remember when I first saw Mya's Minnie Mouse-like visage. She was dancing around in the "It's All About Me" video featuring Sisqo from Dru Hill. I remember thinking, who is this little girl and she won't last long.

This has been an exciting summer where R&B is concerned. A lot of new music by major artists and young hopefuls is in preparation or is already making it's way to the radio airwaves and video countdown shows. I don't mind one bit because it gives us a lot to talk about. Like this catastrophe:

(Vibe September 2006)

Approx. First Week Sales
#1LeToya - 170,307
#2 NOW 22 - 154,481
#3 Pharrell - 146,532
Final

Can we give LeToya Luckett a fuckin' round of applause. Not only has homegirl shed the "that's the girl that got kicked out of Destiny's Child" stigma, but she managed to duck and dodge the bullets the Knowles family have spit her way and still sold enough albums this past week to make her self-titled debut CD the No. 1 selling CD in the country. Now tell me what y'all think of this H-Town Chick....

Approx. First Week Sales
#1LeToya - 144,229
#2 NOW 22 - 134,773
#3 Pharrell - 120,985
73% of sales tallied

Today's Soundtrack:

Today marks SOHH Soulful's 1 Year Anniversary. Who would have thought we'd be kickin' it like this past our first entry? An R&B blog getting so much love on a site set up to Support Online Hip Hop... WTF? Like Brandy warned... NEVER SAY NEVER! (shout out to the Usual Suspects in the comment section!)

And speaking of Brandy...