On any given Monday night I would have been sitting in front of the television getting a full dose of the CW11's 'black' line up. However, last night (10/30) I bucked tradition and headed over to the John Legend concert at the Nokia Theater in Times Square.
Over the weekend I heard a few rumors about the Janet Jackson, Jermaine Dupri and Virgin situation.
(photo from Cake & Ice Cream)
Shareefa, the newest edition to Ludacris' DTP Soul, opened for Lyfe Jennings last night at BB King's here in New York City.
Yesterday I was listening to one of those cable channels that streams music. You know the ones that you feel like should show videos; cause the playlist is off the chain but they only broadcast the song's or album's credits.
All of a sudden Letoya Luckett's "She Don't" comes on. I was in the other room and not looking at the screen.
Approx CD Sales:
#1 Diddy - 176,332
# 4 Justin Timberlake - 95,697
#8 Ruben Studdard - 69,769
#12 Ludacris - 52,829
#21 Beyonce - 32,620
#24 Janet Jackson - 29,348
Final
Last night (10/24) the worlds of fashion and music united to celebrate John Legend and the release of his sophomore CD Once Again at PM here in New York City.
Is Michael Jackson still the King of Pop? Personally, I say hell yes. The reason being, despite what personal issues the man may have encountered, it still hasn't stopped the likes of Omarion, Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, Usher and sohh many others from trying their hardest to mimic his likeness even if in tribute.
But can Michael make a comeback?
John Legend will be performing live and signing copies of his new CD Once Again tomorrow (Oct. 24) at the Virgin Mega Store in Union Square here in NYC. SOHH Soulful is giving away passes to get your cd signed in an exclusive backstage meet and greet. You must be 18 y.o. or older.
Email us TODAY at SOHHSOULFUL@sohh.com with "I LOVE JOHN LEGEND" in the subject line for your chance to win!
It had been rumored all last week and for all I know can still very well be a lie, but the New York Daily News reported on Friday (Oct. 20) that SOHH Soulful's favorite producer Jermaine Dupri stepped down as an executive at Virgin Records due to the less than enthusiastic response to Janet Jackson's celebrated ninth studio album, 20Y.O.
Clutch the pearls!
Here is exactly how the blurb appeared.
Aiight, I know this isn't my realm but I had to chime in on Deelishis and the whole "Flavor of Love" situation.
(Do you see what I see.... :-))
Yesterday on BET's "106 & Park," where Diddy has appeared every day this week, Deelishis dropped by to talk about her winning and being in love with Flav. The first thing that shocked me was when they asked her about her thoughts and winning the show that she immediately went into the role of how she cares about Flav and his kids and such. Not that I don't believe her, but it just shocked me... even though I don't believe her.
Tyrese performed here in New York City on Monday (Oct. 16) not only as Tyrese, but as Black Ty, his rapping alter ego. Yes, homeboy is serious about being a triple threat: singer, rapper and actor.
Of the well wishers in the crowd the night Ty Ty performed was rapper Fabolous.
"How I feel is only gonna change if you let it, and it's real soon, if you don't do what I ask of you." ~ Brandy - "How I Feel," Afrodisiac
I guess I didn't realize just how many Brandy devotees there are. I thought it was me a few of my close friends that get in these fits where only Full Moon could calm our nerves. I get quite a bite of e-mail and questions asking when will there be anything new from Brandy hitting the streets any time soon.
Wait no more!
As if you didn't already know, Diddy's new CD Press Play is officially on sale online and in stores today.
"How could you look at me and not see all the things that I kept only just for you." ~ Beyonce, "Ring The Alarm"
The bridge from "Ring the Alarm" is crazy to me. The change in tempo to contrast the intent of the lyric... sick! This past Friday, I spoke to Ne-Yo, who has an appearance in the new DVD "Save The Last Dance 2" and was a part of Bey's frenzied two-week recording process for B'Day. He gushed to me how when Bey is in the studio, she adds about 10 times the appeal to a song than one would expect. He went on to describe how one time she was singing a song that blew him away and he later asked who wrote it and it turned out that it was his own handy work. To the left, to the left!
Ever since I wrote about Janet Jackson's product manager and what I thought was "curious" behavior, a lot has happened. Aside from the idle threats of violence, I've been all kinds of son's of bitches and we've been manning phone calls from the label. Clearly, I must have been on to something. But I "dropped" it. Then last night, this nonsense happens...
Snippets of music from Amerie have been floating around the internet for a while now. Back in May, at the Sprite Fashion Showcase she whipped out her iPod on the red carpet and let journalists listen to some of the new things she’d be working on.
"You gonna hate me, Imma hate you too. Simple as that. Die mutha fucka, die mutha fucka, die. If you don't give a fuck, I don't give a fuck." ~ Diddy on Nas' "Hate Me Now"
SOHH it seems that Diddy and his campaign to take over the net with his ego-driven viral videos/video diary has backfired. No, he didn't violate the terms and services agreement. No, he didn't misrepresent himself. And despite him videotaping himself taking and piss and comparing it to some of the best sex he's ever had, he didn't even overexpose himself.
Although most will admit that 'age ain't nothing but a number,' we all know the music industry has focused on youth. New artists seem to get younger and younger, thus leading a few maturing artists to turn to gospel (Patti Labelle, Dave Hollister, Kelly Price, Coko). Even MTV, who turned 25 this year, for the first time didn't celebrate it's anniversary because it's no longer new and actually is older than many of it's viewers.
But age, or certain ages, are milestones like 21, 25 and 40.
I can't seem to get my hands on Robin Thicke!
All day Saturday (10/7) I was psych'd about catching the Robin Thicke India.Arie show at the Beacon Theater here in New York. A lot of fuss has been made about this most known unknown and his sophomore set, The Evolution of Robin Thicke.
"I can have another you in a minute, matter of fact he'll be here in a minute." ~ Beyonce, "Irreplaceable"
Have you seen Beyonce's new video for the single "Irreplaceable?" It's said to be the third single from B'Day. If you haven't seen it, check it out.
Go easy on a brotha, I lost my cell phone and laptop in a cab last night. SOHH without further ado, here are the
Last night I went to the Fat Joe listening session held at the Virgin Records cafeteria hosted by Joe himself. As Joe's bangin' new set filled the air, so did this weird eeri-ness that something just wasn't right.
There was a lot of whispering, some of it was in agreement that Me, Myself and I is some of Joe's best shit yet. That joint with him and the Game is sure to be a hit. However the majority of the people there were talking about how Janet Jackson didn't debut at #1 according to Hits Daily Double. Some wondered would the numbers be massaged a little for the more official Billboard report. Funny thing is, Def Jam had already claimed their victory. As we walked up to the Virgin Records office, Ludacris' street team had covered the entire block with his posters as if 5th Avenue were Peachtree Street or Camberton Road.
Approx CD Sales:
#1 Ludacris- 314,060
#2 Janet Jackson - 300,793
FINAL
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Promises, Promises, Promises. Usually the promises that are made by recording artists is to restore music to a certain state; to take it back so to speak. As of late, the promises have been about personal evolutions. Ciara's forthcoming sophomore CD is titled Evolution.
Can we get a chin check on Jermaine Dupri? Am I allowed to step out of the role of a fan and supporter for a moment?
Since the release announcent of 20Y.O. Jermaine Dupri has taken center stage as the project's mouth piece. Rightfully sohh, he is the album's executive producer and Janet Jackson's main squeeze. I get that. But I don't know how I feel about the messages he's been leaving on his MySpace page and in Janet's official forum. Here is one note from Friday:
