This week saw Pink’s latest single, ‘Blow Me (One Last Kiss)’, released to Top 40/Mainstream radio to undeniably stellar reviews.

Now, in what we’d say is pretty generous of her, today saw her release a snippet from its B-Side ‘The King is Dead but the Queen is Alive’ .

Tuck into the teaser below…

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Via TMZ:

Rap legend Heavy D — one of the most influential rappers of the ’90s — died earlier today … TMZ has learned.

Heavy D — real name Dwight Arrington Myers — was rushed to an L.A. hospital around noon today … and was pronounced dead at the hospital at 1 PM. He was 44 years old.

We’ve learned a 911 call was placed from Heavy’s Beverly Hills home around 11:25 AM to report an unconscious male on the walkway .

When help arrived, we’re told Heavy D was conscious and speaking — and was transported to a nearby hospital.

He died a short time later.

Cops are investigating the death — and so far, there are no obvious signs of foul play.

Heavy D had several massive hits — including “Now That We Found Love.” He also wrote and performed the theme song for “In Living Color” … and appeared as an actor in the movie “Life.”

Sad. We just saw him live in action at the Michael Jackson tribute here in the UK.

Our sincerest thoughts and prayers go out to his family

 Your thoughts?

Unfortunately for supporters of  the entertainer Soulja Boy, his career may not be the only part of his life that’s in hot water today.

For moments ago, it was revealed that he is currently behind bars.

Find out why below..

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Peep these images of Ciara and Kanye West at a Paris Fashion Week event where ‘blood and darkness’ seemed to be the theme of the night.

Both dressed in black- with Ciara getting more into the theme than West did- the snaps of the pair come just days after they shot together at the latter’s womenswear launch in the same city.

More below…

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In what comes as tragic news, singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London home today. She was 27.

Developing…

Your thoughts?

During a recent performance of ‘Speechless’ in her ‘Monster Ball Tour’, Lady GaGa issued a statement to her critics who have been calling for her to slow down. Now that her tour has been extended until April 18th 2011, many worry that the singer is risking her health, especially since she has lost several pounds as a result of her hectic schedule. However, GaGa says that she’d “rather not die on vacation” but would “rather die on stage” with her fans. Check out the footage below (starting at 6:25) where GaGa proclaimed “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”:

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Exactly three years ago rapper Nas controversially proclaimed that ‘Hip-Hop Is Dead’. Fast forward to the present and the same bold declaration can arguably be applied to R&B too. Indeed, with today’s industry churning out an increasingly homogenised sound, one which largely seems to favour the Pop genre, the future (or lack thereof) of R&B as we’ve known it does not look promising. The question remains, though: is this a bad or good thing?

Birthed in the 1940’s, R&B music saw its journey to mainstream prominence really pick up in the 1960’s with the Motown movement. Furthermore, the 70’s ushered in a host of wildly successful R&B acts such as Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, and Aretha Franklin. Though the likes of Prince, Sade and Chaka Khan continued the trend in the 1980’s, it was the 90’s which saw the true boom and arguable peak of R&B. If in doubt, the names and successes of Lauryn Hill, TLC, Mary J. Blige, Boyz II Men, R Kelly, and Toni Braxton, to name but a few, speak volumes.

Yet despite the dizzy heights it once enjoyed, R&B today no longer occupies its once-pole position in the musical sphere. For evidence of this, one need not look further than the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Charts, where songs topping the chart often struggle to make any impact on the all-inclusive Billboard Hot 100. Though fans and stans oft cite the successes of their favourite act on the R&B/Hip-Hop tally, any such success is arguably limited to the Urban arena – one of the smallest when compared to other genres.

If the format is truly in decline, then what happened R&B?

On a surface level, the fusing together of R&B with other genres such as Pop and more recently Dance/Electronica can be heralded as a (positive) testament to the ‘coming together’ of the world’s many cultures and societies. Yet, R&B and Urban music more generally, seem to have drawn the shorter end of the stick in this cultural exchange. For, while both the Pop and Dance genres have benefitted greatly from flirting with R&B, they have also managed to remain successful genres in their own right. R&B, unfortunately, has not. Today it’s almost laughable for both new and established acts to release ‘pure R&B’ and anticipate any chart success (see: Mariah’s ‘Memoirs’ and any new act NOT jumping on this Euro-Pop bandwagon).

Yes, there are exceptions such as Maxwell and Sade, both of whom have enjoyed critical and commercial success this year, releasing music with their trademark (R&B) sound. However, it’s wholly believable that the hype surrounding their comebacks largely factored in to them defying the odds.

More so than any other factor, the industry’s gradual move to a more Pop-dominated mode-of-operation seems to have dealt R&B what could prove to be a fatal blow. Traditionally even the most R&B of R&B songs were sprinkled with Pop sensibilities i.e. catchy hooks and hummable melodies. However, what used to be a quality-rich genre seems to have been replaced with what long caused Pop music to not be taken seriously – the idea of image over substance. No longer are vocals or the establishing of artists who will inspire future generations the priority of labels. Instead, we now have models posing as singers topping the charts (“eh eh eh”). Even undeniable talents such as Beyonce, whose first album was an all-R&B affair, have moved further away from the genre in favour of an almost-entirely Pop sound. These occurrences have consequently birthed a culture of fast-food music made for fickle audiences, who see artists as only as good as their last hit.

The idea of R&B being dead may be premature and somewhat pessimistic. However the likelihood of its eventual demise is becoming increasingly evident with each new generation. As an advocate for innovation and the blurring of musical boundaries, it would be endearing to see R&B in its pure form return to prominence and co-exist alongside its diluted incarnation.

Your thoughts?

Sean 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?