While currently in the studio preparing for the release of her new studio album, Keyshia Cole has released a statement explaining the issues surrounding her relationship with her family. In the release, provided via Freddy O, the songstress notes that she has severed all communication with her family. Read the full statement below:

“To all my friends and fans – It’s time that I clear the air.  It’s not a secret that I haven’t been in contact with my mother Frankie, and my sisters Neffe and Elite and I never wanted to air out our differences to the public.   While I won’t go into detail here I find it necessary to let you guys know I decided to stop communication with them because I was at a point in my life where I needed serenity and peace to move forward. Please know I love my family very much but it was time to let it go.  You guys are a witness to a lot of what was happening from watching on air and online.   Now that I am becoming a mom my passion for having a loving and peaceful home for my child is my #1 priority. It’s very important to both Daniel and I.  My plate is very full; I have a new baby coming, we are planning our wedding and I am working in the studio on a new album that I am close to completing.  The stress that my family is giving me with their constant false reports is not healthy and it’s not what I need at this time in my life.   Please understand that there are only a few people that can officially confirm or deny anything that’s happening in my life and that’s me, Daniel, and my publicist, Tresa Sanders.  And my girl Monica never lies.”
Love Your Girl,

KC

This action demonstrates that Cole is one of the few media savvy artists to have emerged in recent years. Rather than continuing to fuel the chaos, she has expertly explained her views and displayed sound professionalism. Regarding her Monica comment, the latter reported on Twitter page earlier this week that Cole is expecting a baby boy. Therefore it seems that Monica is indeed correct. Congrats to Cole!

Thoughts?

Beyonce has triggered a media frenzy after her New Year’s Eve performance in St. Barts. The fierce one was reported to have performed for Moutassim Bilal “Hannibal” Gaddafi, a member of the notorious Gaddafi family, a group widely known for violence against women and dictatorship. However, Beyonce’s camp released the following statement denying the claims:

The party in St. Bart’s on New Year’s Eve, with Beyoncé in performance, was hosted by Muatsim-Billah Gaddafi, not his brother Moutassim Bilal “Hannibal” Gaddafi, as reported in the press.

Her agents and management firm made the decision to confirm the private performance. The annual party had a long history of booking internationally known artists both American and foreign for events around the world, including Cannes.

Past performers in St. Bart’s have included Timbaland, Enrique Iglesias and Mariah Carey. Guests at this year’s party included singer Usher, former BET CEO Bob Johnson, actress Lindsay Lohan and music industry vets, Russell Simmons, Kevin Liles and L.A. Reid. {Source}

It seems that this is just another case of the media trying to twist events in an effort encourage readership. Interestingly, when Mariah Carey performed at the same event at last year for $1 million, the media had no qualms about it. Either way, by performing for the Gaddafi clan, Beyonce is in no way showing support for their motives. Does a defense attorney support rape if he represents a rapist in court? Hardly.

Thoughts?

Lady GaGa made an appearance at the ‘2010 International Consumer Electronics Show’ at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas yesterday. The international Pop sensation has been named Creative Director for a specialty line of Polaroid Imaging products and introduced her own line of headphones, ‘Hearbeats by Lady GaGa’. Check out more images of the singer and her hair below:

What do you think of GaGa’s look?

Neo-Soul diva Jill Scott is preparing to release a new studio album this year. The record, entitled ‘The Light Of The Sun’, serves as the 4th installment of t her critically acclaimed ‘Words And Sounds’ series. According to Soul Culture, the singer’s LP will hit stores in Spring/Summer.

As one of the most technically skilled singers to emerge in the last decade, to say that I am eager to hear this record would be an understatement. In addition to her lyrical prowess, Scott’s expansive vocal range and power ranks her in the same league as Lauryn Hill, in my opinion. Moreover, ‘The Real Thing’ was undoubtedly a  modern classic, as many of the singles from the project still enjoy heavy rotation on the R&B formats. ‘The Light Of The Sun’ is definitely one to which I look forward.

Thoughts?

Young entertainer Chris Brown took these new promotional shots for MTV recently. The singer is expected to release ‘Pass Out’ as the next single from his commercially underwhelming ‘Graffiti’ LP. Peep more shots below:

What do you think of the pics?

Turn on your television set and this is what you’ll see: a variety of female Urban performers adorned in the latest fashions, tossing their hips and belting for their audiences. However, if you look pass the glitz and the glamour, you will notice that they almost all look the same – light-skinned, slim built women, wearing the an assortment of weaves and wigs. What you are in fact witnessing is the mold of the ideal woman in the music industry.

For decades, women of colour have been forced to adopt the styles and appearance of their Caucasian counterparts in an effort to achieve mainstream appeal. Acts such as Aretha Franklin and Ella Fitzgerald were adorned with wigs and blush in their early careers; arguably forced to adjust their looks to be more marketable to US mass media audiences. In fact, Diana Ross rose to a position of prominence, not just because of her talent and music, but also as a result of her light skin and Caucasian features.

That trend continues to this day, with artists such as Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys and Beyonce dominating the airwaves while their darker contemporaries are struggling to access the mainstream audience. Kelly Rowland, for instance, enjoys chart-topping success in countries such as UK, where skin tone is no longer regarded as a definitive factor  in artists’  success. Yet regardless of how well or not she’s been promoted, she’s yet to have an impact as a solo act in the US, a fact arguably attributable to her complexion.  Quite notably, few dark-skinned African-American performers have been able to ascend to the top of the charts, with Whitney Houston, Lauryn Hill and Mary J. Blige providing rare examples of such cases. This despite there being a wealth of talent among artists from all races, hues and complexions.

Interestingly, the colour paradigm is considered  a key attribute of Rihanna’s marketing campaign. Her light eyes, high cheek bones, fair skin and all-round more ‘exotic’ look have supposedly allowed her to capture her Covergirl campaign. Indeed, Beyonce faced severe criticism when her L’Oreal ads featured photoshopped images of the singer, making her seem several shades lighter than her natural complexion.

Hence, it is clear that, as far as success in the US music industry is concerned, light is indeed considered ‘right’. As long as the ideals and politics governing skin colour remain active, darker-skinned artists will continue to find themselves pigeonholed on the R&B formats, without garnering mainstream appeal. That is unless they are willing to purchase lace front wigs and bleach their skin in an attempt to capture it or, more ideally, the industry finally experiences a major change for the better.

Do you think that skin colour is a major factor in the

music industry?

Grammy-favourite Alicia Keys performed at the Apollo theatre in Harlem, New York last evening. The concert, which was filmed for BillboardLive.com, featured appearances from Marsha Ambrosius, Raheem DeVaughn, Melanie Fiona and Kenny Muhammad. Check out more shots from the show below:

What do you think of the pics?

Christina Aguilera was spotted with Pop music icon Cher recently. The two were busy filming scenes for the Steve Antin-directed movie ‘Burlesque’. Peep more images of the duo below:

What do you think of the pics?

After initially announcing that ‘Love Over Me’ and ‘One In A Lifetime’ were to serve as dual lead singles from Monica’s forthcoming ‘Still Standing’ LP, her label J Records have done a 180 and revealed that the track ‘Everything’ will instead now be the record’s first single. The decision was made after the 29 year old’s fans bombarded label execs with requests for the song to be the lead single, a want shared by Monica herself – as highlighted on her BET reality series also titled ‘Still Standing’.

While ‘Everything’ is undoubtedly a great track, it most certainly doesn’t strike me as single material in the slightest. It’s not because it’s not a good song (though the ad-libbing is a bit much and all over the place at times). However it just doesn’t possess that certain something Monica so clearly needs right now – a radio/chart-friendly track, which manages to sound contemporary, yet also incorporates her trademark sound. She’ll no doubt appeal to her fans with this one, yet as history has taught many an artist, sometimes  fans just aren’t enough to ensure a well-selling record. Ever-important to capture and convert is the casual listener. It’ll be interesting to see how this fares nontheless.

Hit or Miss?

Usher’s camp has provided his fans with a sneak peak of his new video for ‘Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)’. The single, which features rapper Plies, has thus far peaked at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #28 on the Hip-Hop/R&B chart. Usher’s ‘Raymond vs. Raymond’ LP hits stores on February 16th according to Amazon.com.

It looks like this is going to be an interesting clip. I hope that Usher isn’t going to focus the entire video around his sex appeal because as the song is going to need more substantial support to help it climb the charts. Usher has always found a way to include his dance skills into his work, so I am eager to see if he can do the same with this one.

Thoughts?

Yesterday, diva Mariah Carey’s ‘Angels Cry (Remix)’ surfaced on the web. Today, the ‘Up Out My Face (Remix)’ has emerged as well. The single, which will be released as part of a dual release with ‘Cry’, features rapper Nicki Minaj. Carey’s ‘Angels Advocate’ remix LP hits stores on February 23rd.

This track supports the old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The original version was solid and served as one of the standout songs from the ‘Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel’. However, the addition of Minaj’s almost confusing lyrics over a completely unaltered production seems almost completely pointless. The rapper did not improve the song in any way. The hype of both their names will certainly guarantee that the song will get airplay but without the support of a strong video, I sense that this single will be quickly ignored in favour of the ‘Cry’ collaboration with Ne-Yo.

Hit or Miss?

In 2005, Destiny’s Child shocked the world when they officially announced their breakup while touring in Spain. Since then, the R&B trio have gone their separate ways in the industry, each embarking on successful careers in their respective fields. Beyonce Knowles has become, without a doubt, the premier act in R&B/Pop, Kelly Rowland has experienced phenomenal success in the European markets, and Michelle Williams has blossomed on the Gospel charts and on Broadway.

However, despite their various individual achievements, their fans continue to demand that Beyonce, Kelly and Michelle reunite. This encourages the following questions: would a Destiny’s Child reunion be plausible? Or have the parts become greater than the whole, with the former members becoming too musically dissimilar?

Having established themselves as the biggest selling girl group of all time, Destiny’s Child conquered the world of R&B/Pop in every way imaginable. After a short break in 2001, the group reformed in 2004 for their hit album ‘Destiny’s Fulfilled’, which depicted immense growth amongst the members; vocally, lyrically and in their performances. Nevertheless, since that time, they have each experimented with incredibly different sounds, diverging further away from their roots. Furthermore,  in conscious effort to focus on her solo career, Kelly has generally distanced herself from Mathew Knowles, the group’s manager.

Moreover, having finally created their own individual identities, many doubt that Kelly and Michelle would readily conform to the Destiny’s Child paradigm where Beyonce is undoubtedly the lead act. With Kelly primed to finally capture the success in the US that has long since eluded her because of incessant comparisons to her former bandmate, it would certainly damage any chances of her being considered a capable solo act without the crutch of Destiny’s Child.

Thus, with swirling speculation surrounding the chances of a Destiny’s Child reunion, there remain several possibilities that need to be considered. Either way, having created such substantial legacy, there is no question that a reformation of one music’s biggest groups would be remarkable.

Do you think that a Destiny’s Child reunion would

work?