Estelle Vents About 'White Soul Invasion'Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, songstress Estelle expressed her views on what she described as the blindness to black talent here in the UK. Taking aim at some of the artists at the forefront of the ‘White Soul Invasion’, the 28 year old singer, whose song ‘American Boy’ is currently #1 on the Official Singles Chart, laments on the lack of press attention paid to black singers over here:

Singling out Adele and Duffy, who she knocked off the number one spot at the weekend, she says:

“I’m not mad at them, but I’m wondering – how the hell is there not a single black person in the press singing soul? Adele ain’t soul. She sounds like she heard some Aretha records once, and she’s got a deeper voice – that don’t mean she’s soul. That don’t mean nothing to me in the grand scheme of my life as a black person. As a songwriter, I get what they do. As a black person, I’m like: you’re telling me this is my music? Fuck that!” {Continue reading…}

Granted I feel music is one of the few ‘universals’ that exist today, I definitely see where Estelle is coming from – especially as a black person who lives here in the UK.

Your thoughts?

Mario BarrettWhile Mario continues to impress on Dancing With The Stars, the 21 year old’s music career seems to be receiving a much-needed new lease of life. According to AllAccess.com, fan-favourite ‘Music For Love’, from his grossly underrated ‘Go!’ album, has been lined up as his next single and will be going for adds on radio tomorrow (April 1st). Whether or not the release will get the video treatment is unknown, however I must say I’m glad the masses will get a chance to listen to this track – which IMO is Mario’s best song, hands-down.

Any thoughts?
Michelle Williams - 'We Break The Dawn'The full version of Michelle Williams’ new single ‘We Break The Dawn’ made its debut on People.com earlier today. Set to be the first release from Williams’ forthcoming LP ‘Unexpected’ (due August), the Synth-heavy track sees the former Destiny’s Child member embrace a more Pop/Dance/International sound – something we can expect to hear more of on the album as well. I’m loving the fact that Michelle wasn’t afraid to step outside of her comfort zone and try something new, as the results are evidently fantastic. A solid cut, that should (and most likely will) have many anticipating more of what Michelle has on offer. I really feel as though Michelle has a great chance of hitting it big (solo) this time around. As I’m sure most of you all know, we will be interviewing Michelle very soon. Click here to submit any questions you may have for her.

Hit or Miss?

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Sean Levert Dead At 39Sean Levert, brother of the late Gerald Levert and son of Eddie Levert Sr of The O’Jays, died late last night:

Levert, 39, died at 11:57 p.m. at Lutheran Hospital after being transported to the facility from the Cuyahoga County Jail – where he was serving time for not paying child support. Sean Levert had gone to the jail infirmary complaining he was sick.

It was in November that Sean Levert started singing again. He talked with NewsChannel5 about finishing a project — bringing the group back together — that his brother started.

Gerald Levert died Nov. 10, 2006. He was found dead in his bed at his Newbury home. {Source}

One has to really feel for Levert’s father Eddie, who has lost two sons in such a short space of time. Condolences to the Levert family.

Your thoughts?

50 Cent Talks 'Curtis' After 50 Cent’s loss in the high-profile September 11th album showdown with rapper Kanye West last year, much, if not all, promotion surrounding his ‘Curtis’ LP ground to a halt. In a recent interview with MTV, the G-Unit leader spoke candidly on the album and what went wrong:

“It was a blockbuster that I lit, and it didn’t explode. I felt like it should have went a lot further than the results I received … Publicly, I feel that 50 Cent fans don’t believe it was a dud. It did have ‘I Get Money,’ it did have ‘Ayo Technology,’ ‘I’ll Still Kill,’ ‘Follow My Lead’ with Robin Thicke. These records were hit records, but the timing they came out was wrong. If the first record you heard off Curtis was ‘I Get Money,’ it would have shifted more millions in sales.”

Granted 50 can be overly egotistical a lot of the time, I actually agree with some of what he’s saying. While I don’t look at ‘Curtis’ as any kind of ‘blockbuster’, I do feel things may have gone differently had the single choices been better. I guess he won’t be so fast as to run his mouth next time around…then again, it is 50.

Your thoughts?

Following a brief hiatus, this week sees the return of our ‘From The Vault’ feature. Foxy Brown’s 1996 collabo with R&B crooners Blackstreet ‘Get Me Home’ is this week’s video. Taken from the ‘Ill Na Na’ album, also released in 96, the song/video is often cited as being one of Foxy’s standout efforts:

Definitely one of the 90’s best R&B/Hip-Hop collaborations IMO. Watching this back kinda makes Foxy’s current predicament (still incarcerated) all the more annoying; such a talent wasting away. Here’s hoping she sorts herself out and gets back to what made her who she is: the music.

Your thoughts?

Estelle 'American Boy' Holds Top SpotR&B star Estelle’s current smash ‘American Boy’ begins its second week atop of the Official UK Singles Chart. The song, which also occupies the top spot on the Official Download Chart, fended off competition from Flo’Rida’s ‘Low’ (which sits at #2) and Madonna’s ‘4 Minutes To Save The World (which climbs #7-#5 this week). The Londoner’s new album ‘Shine’, her first release under John Legend’s Homeschool Records, hits stores here in the UK tomorrow.

Your thoughts?
As reported last week, R&B star Kelly Rowland performed at the BBC 1Xtra Live festival here in England recently. Check out her rendition of the ‘Destiny’s Child Medley’ from her set:

“They said I couldn’t do it solo!” Kudos to Kelly, she did great.

What do you think of the performance?

Syleena Johnson Update Some of you may have been wondering about the whereabouts of R&B songstress Syleena Johnson, following the release of her last album ‘Chapter 3: The Flesh’ back in 2005.
After the poor performance of her last LP, Syleena severed ties with then label Jive Records in 2006. A year later the singer gave birth to her and husband Kiwane Garris’ first child – Kiwane Garris Jr in August 2007.
Having signed a deal this year with with Federal, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, Johnson’s own label Aneelys Records (Syleena spelt backwards) will release her new album ‘Chapter 4: Labor Pains’ as a joint-venture on September 2nd. {Source} Check out new promo pics for the release below:

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Syleena Johnson Update Syleena Johnson Update Syleena Johnson Update
I’m real amped for Syleena’s new album; ‘Chapter 3: The Flesh’ was one of my favourite records upon its release – I vividly remember having ‘Hypnotiq’ and ‘Another Relationship’ on constant rotation. It’s a shame the album didn’t fare as well as it could and should have – much of which can be attributed to the label’s lack of support. Here’s hoping that ‘Chapter 4’ earns Syleena the recognition she deserves.

Any thoughts?

Check out this video of Mariah Carey in the studio recording ‘Love Story’, one the tracks set to feature on her forthcoming ‘E=MC²’ LP:

This is more like it! I’m really feeling this Jermaine Dupri produced cut. Mariah definitely seems more comfortable in the studio than she does on stage, as the vocals here are near-flawless. As at now, all signs are pointing toward the ballads on the album being the standouts. Much ado has also been made about another ballad on the record called ‘Bye Bye’. I’m actually starting to feel a little more optimistic about this new album.

Your thoughts?

Leona Lewis - Misses Glass‘Misses Glass’ is one of two new tracks from the revamped US version of Leona’s debut album ‘Spirit’. The uptempo cut injects a much-needed lease of life into ‘Spirit’s’ ballad-laden form. What’s more, with its ‘Pop-meets-light R&B’ sound, the Mad Scientist produced track should appeal to the mass US audience. ‘Spirit’ hits stores in the US on April 8th.

Hit or Miss?

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A fully recovered Janet Jackson (who had been suffering from the flu) was one of many stars who stepped out for the 2008 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in Hollywood last night. Other celebs in attendance included Chris Brown and Rihanna (separately), Will Smith, Akon, Jordin Sparks, Jermaine Dupri, Lil’ Mama and Usher. It’s been so long since I tuned into one of these awards – getting older I guess. Anyway, enough of my rambling, check out more pics from the event below:

What do you think of the pics?

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